Ecuador: Tuna Tussle

Of all the furies of the southern seas, few are as furious as a U.S. tuna-boat skipper forced to pay up to $8,000 to the government of Ecuador for a one-shot license to drop his nets anywhere within 200 miles of the Ecuadorean coast. Last year, says August Felando, general manager of the American Tuna Boat Association, West Coast skippers were hooked for a cool $500,000 for the privilege of fishing in the 66,000 sq. mi. of blue Pacific Ocean claimed by Ecuador. "The association felt that things were getting worse, with...