The Galapagos Islands or ‘Islas de Los Galapagos’ as they are called in Spanish, is an island group of the eastern Pacific Ocean. The group consists of 19 islands with associated islets and rocks straddling the Equator. Their total land area of 7994 square kilometres is scattered over some 59,500 square kilometres of ocean. The islands are formed of lava piles and dotted with shield volcanoes. High volcanic mountains, craters, and cliffs accentuate the striking ruggedness of their landscape. The islands have about 700 species of plants, of which about 40 percent are only found at Galapagos.

The capital of the Galapagos Islands is Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristobal Island, although the largest town is Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz.

In 1959, Ecuador designated 97% of the land area of Galapagos as a National Park, and then in 1986 the Galapagos Marine Resources Reserve was established, protecting the waters around the archipelago. The islands have been recognised internationally as a Man and Biosphere Reserve, and as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In December 2001, the Marine Reserve was also designated a World Heritage Site.

While the majority of the region been restricted from any sort of development or resource extraction, a management plan for the marine zone has been implemented to address local needs. This allows for local, traditional and artisanal commercial fishing, for both local and foreign markets, within the reserve.