The marine community of Galopagos is one of the most unique and exotic. One must be an experienced diver with adequate skills as strong currents, thermoclines and swells are common.
There are no dive shops in Galapagos so one must bring all their own equipment.
TopicsDIVING The time to dive is between November and June when conditions are best. In order to dive, you must be on a designated dive trip. Itineraries normally consist of two dives per day alternating with shore excursions as well as snorkeling and panga rides.
Here are some or the more popular dive sites in Galapagos: 1. COUSINS ROCKS
To the North of Barfolome, Cousins is an interesting wall dive. Here you'll see huge moray eels, an occasional school of sharks and invertebrates. Visibility is just fair most of the year.
2. GORDON ROCKS
The best dive site in the Central Islands. It is a tough dive with heavy currents, large swells and deep water. One can find Hammerhead sharks, Amberjacks and other large fish. 3. GUY FAWKES ROCKS
This is an easy, low current dive. Small reef fish abound. The walls are covered with block coral and it's a well worth it site for the multi-colored sponges, corals and other invertebrates. 4. ROCA REDONDA
Located north of Isabela, Roca Reclonda is home to big sharks, big groupers and areas spewing gas bubbles from the floor. 5. WOLF AND DARWIN (not shown on map)
Most experienced divers will agree, this is one of the best diving sites in the world! Sightings of the whale shark are common here. There are no land visitor sites here, just serious diving. At the "Northern Arch" at Darwin, the northern most Island, Hammerhead sharks are not uncommon nor are bottlenose dolphins. At Wolf, three anchorages are possible; the pinnacle, the reef and the south islet channel. The reef contains many warm water varieties of fish found nowhere else in the Islands and is the most consistent place to see hammerheads.
Preservation of the Islands  The Galapagos National Park Service (Parque Nacional Galapagos) is the governmental agency responsible for the management and protection of the Park. Conservation projects include the protection of endangered populations of native animals, the eradication and control of introduced species (particularly goats, feral dogs, cats, pigs, and guava plants) and the management of recreation and tourism by establishing and maintaining nature trails.
Your guide is in charge of enforcing the park's Rules and Regulations when visiting the islands. They are:
1) No animal is to be disturbed and no plant or rock touched or removed.
2) No foreign material is to be transported to the islands or from one island to another.
3) Do not take any food to the uninhabited islands. Smoking is prohibited in the Islands.
4) The animals are not to be touched, fed, petted or approached too closely.
5) It is absolutely forbidden to frighten or chase any living creature from its nest or resting place.
6) While diving or snorkeling, don't hurt any marine creature.
7) Waste products of all kinds must be taken away from the islands.
8) Do not buy souvenirs of objects made from plants or animals of the Islands such as the shells of the Galapagos tortoises or block coral.
9) Do not paint names or graffiti on rocks.
10) All groups visiting the National Park must be accompanied by a licensed guide.
11) Follow the marked trails at all times and do not walk out of their limits. CONSERVATION EFFORTS
 The Charles Darwin Research Station (Estacion Cientifica Charles Darwin) is an international, non-profit organization which acts in a scientific advisory capacity for the Park Service and conducts conservation-oriented research with the help of scientists and students from Ecuador and around the world. It also helps to channel funds for conservation in the islands.
The Darwin Station and the Park Service have been working together for over twenty years for the protection and wise management of Galapagos. For example, they have been successful in saving three species of land iguanas from extinction, raising several hundred animals in the Darwin Station and returning them to their native islands. Eight tortoise subspecies were also saved, of which about 1,000 tortoises have already been repatriated. Slowly, goats have been eliminated from several of the smaller islands, wild dogs from Isabela and rats from Bartolome. The survival of the clark-rumped (Hawian) petrel, once on the verge of extinction due to rate preditation, now looks promising.
One of the most successful joint ventures is the Naturalist Guide program. Tourists cannot legally go anywhere in the designated National Park area without being escorted by a Licensed Guide. Each guide must complete one of two rigorous training program (Naturalist I, II or III) after which they are granted a license valid for 3 years.
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