A tiger shark, one of the species threated in Indonesia
Despite the rise in shark-scare media like Shark Week and Sharknado, conservationists are finally starting to get the message across that sharks need protection from us, rather than the other way around.
But in Indonesia, awareness about the importance of sharks to our marine ecosystems is still dangerously low, as detailed in a sobering article by Bali-based writer Johnny Langenheim for the Guardian. Titled, “How the tuna we buy is killing sharks in Indonesia,” the article is aimed at informing Western audiences that the tuna they eat from Indonesia, which is the world’s number one producer of tuna, often comes from fishermen that unscrupulously kill and process sharks as part of the same catch.
As Langenheim notes, “The shark are technically bycatch, but they’d be more accurately described as valuable byproduct. And the sheer numbers being caught are shocking.”
Indonesian fishermen still do brisk trade in shark fins, despite numerous campaigns to curb Chinese appetites for the so-called luxury product. But, as the Guardian article notes, “…shark flesh is an important source of protein for many coastal communities in Indonesia and the meat is sold everywhere including in supermarkets. There are also signs of an upsurge in the sale of baby sharks, which are routinely stocked by many of the big supermarket chains. Sharks have long reproductive cycles so targeting juveniles can have a destructive impact on wild populations.”
The main reason Indonesian tuna fisherman continue to go after sharks is “…a total lack of management regulations for most shark species — no catch quotas, no minimum sizes, and no fishing bans.”
While Langenheim notes that the government is making a few tentative steps in the right direction, including more government monitors on fishing boats and improving systems for data collection, protections for sharks are still woefully inadequate.
Some people, especially the fishermen who make their livelihoods off of them, might ask why sharks are so important and need to be protected. Conservation scientist argue that sharks, who generally hold the top spots on oceanic food chains, play an important role in the overall health of marine ecosystems. As noted in this article on Inside Science titled, “Threats To Sharks Threaten Entire Ecosystems” the removal of an apex predator from a food chain can severly disrupt the natural balance.
But a more compelling argument to many Indonesians would be the economic benefits sharks can bring to the tourism sector. As the Guardian article notes, “A 2011 study by the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Palau showed that a single reef shark was worth $1.9m over its lifetime to the tourism industry there.”
That, Langenheim notes, is why the few serious local shark conservation efforts in Indonesia have happened in Raja Ampat and West Manggarai, both top diving spots with lucrative tourism industries. Sharks are an essential attraction for divers coming to these areas, so it’s in the best interest of people in those areas to protect them. Hopefully the rest of Indonesia will come to recognize the many reasons why sharks should be saved.
