How a species gains national protection: Spotlighting Konservasi Indonesia’s efforts

The journey to get leopard sharks nationally protected in Indonesia has begun — find out what it is going to take.

Representatives from local and national government agencies, academia, conservation organizations and businesses gather in Depok on May 20, 2024 for a workshop to initiate the protection of leopard sharks in Indonesia. Photo by Nathaniel Soon.

BEFORE LEOPARD SHARKS CAME WALKING SHARKS

Fondly known as walking sharks due to their notable ability to use their pectoral and pelvic fins to ‘walk’ across reef and seagrass habitats, the genus Hemiscyllium comprises nine recognized species of small, nocturnally-active sharks. These epaulette sharks are endemic to the shallow coastal environments in the Sahul region of the Indo-Australian archipelago, with each species occupying adjacent, non-overlapping distributions around New Guinea, northern Australia, and the satellite islands west of New Guinea, including the Raja Ampat archipelago, Halmahera, and Aru. Six of these nine species have been recorded in Indonesian waters.

These sharks are unique in more ways than one. They are currently the most recently evolved group of sharks with the genus Hemiscyllium arising only nine million years ago, a mere stride in evolutionary time. Their limited ranges are also a stand-out. As Conservation International’s Dr. Mark Erdmann explains, “To have a shark species that is found only in one relatively small bay is unheard of in shark biogeography.”

Species with such limited ranges are more vulnerable to localized threats such as diseases and overfishing, which could wipe them out in entirety. Their perilous reality is exacerbated by rising ocean temperatures and the decimation of critical habitats where walking sharks live and hunt for food, coupled with their inability to migrate over deep waters and long distances.

*Hemiscyllium halmahera*, one of nine species of walking sharks, described from Halmahera, by Dr. Gerald Allen, Dr. Mark Erdmann and Dr. Christine Dudgeon. Photo by Mark Erdmann.

“Walking sharks tend to spend their entire lives on the same reef. When that gets degraded, they have nowhere else to go,” Mochamad Iqbal Herwata points out. The need for stringent protection of Indonesia’s walking sharks quickly became apparent.

Enter Konservasi Indonesia (KI) — as the local affiliate of Conservation International, KI has long been working toward the sustainable development and protection of critical ecosystems in Indonesia. Presently leading KI’s Focal Species Conservation Program is Iqbal, who is part of the StAR Project Steering Committee. Back in 2022, his team sprung into action, leading the push for the protection of walking sharks at a national level.

What would encompass a long and often tedious process is started with an ‘initiative proposal’, and followed by five other broad steps laid out in 35/PERMEN-KP/2013, a regulation issued by Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) or Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan Republik Indonesia (KKP).

On June 7, 2022, KI brought together key stakeholders for an expert workshop to initiate the protection of walking sharks in Indonesia. A resulting report was submitted to the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries on Aug. 2, 2022. This was followed by public consultation and further scientific recommendations by Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). Later on, KI assisted the government in the formulation of a national action plan for walking shark conservation and identification of habitats for protection.

“Indonesia declares walking sharks as protected species,” the national headlines would soon read, following the stipulation of Ministerial Decree No. 30/2023 on Jan. 30, 2023 by MMAF, and a culmination of years of effort by KI and partners. Responding to the good news, Iqbal expressed hope that “walking sharks will be ambassadors for the conservation of their toothier cousins”.

Fast forward to over a year later and thanks in large part to the implementation of the StAR Project in Raja Ampat, leopard sharks (Stegostoma tigrinum) now occupy a similar spotlight.

Distributions of the nine species of walking sharks, from Dudgeon et al. (2020).

20 groups of or individual species designated as national priorities by MMAF for the 2020-2024 period.

Roadmap for priority fish species protection for 2020-2024, from MMAF.

ROADMAP FOR PRIORITY SPECIES PROTECTION

Guiding MMAF’s work in species protection is a national priority species conservation roadmap. Walking sharks were selected as one of 20 groups of or individual species designated as national priorities for the 2020-2024 rendition. Others included sea turtles (comprising six species), the Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus), as well as 13 species of seahorses.

Specific management targets were set out for each group and based on a range of factors, categorically assigned various periods of attention. These management targets varied, but for most of the taxa that had yet to be protected on a national level, that was set out as the main priority.

Based on recommendations from BRIN, two types of national protection status can be granted — ‘partially protected’ (dilindungi terbatas) perhaps seasonally or geographically or ‘fully protected’ (dilindungi penuh) — which was what the walking sharks received. Several other marine species, such as Isis hippuris (bamboo coral) and the near-threatened Tenualosa macrura (longtail shad), were also successfully protected.

Dr. Christine Dudgeon and Prof. Charlie Heatubun present a joint keynote on the StAR Project during the 4th Indonesia Sharks and Rays Symposium, following the expert workshop. Photo by Nathaniel Soon.

INITIATING THE PROTECTION OF LEOPARD SHARKS IN INDONESIA

On May 20, 2024, representatives from local and national government agencies, academia, conservation organizations, and businesses gathered for a workshop aimed at initiating the protection of Stegostoma tigrinum in Indonesia.

Support was bolstered by the attendance of a delegation from MMAF, who jointly organized the workshop with KI, along with key experts, including the StAR Project Steering Committee’s Dr. Christine Dudgeon (Senior Research Fellow at the University of the Sunshine Coast and The University of Queensland) and Dr. Fahmi (Senior Researcher at BRIN). The global conservation status assessment for leopard sharks was first presented by Dudgeon, who is also the Oceania regional co-vice chair for the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group (SSG). This was followed by a deeper dive into the population status of the species in Indonesia by Fahmi, who also serves as the Asia regional co-vice chair for the SSG. Insights on trade data, protection policy and specific recommendations by various speakers were next on the agenda.

After wide-ranging and constructive exchanges, the workshop culminated in attendees signing a collective agreement. This agreement, which forms the basis of support for species protection, will be included as an appendix to a larger scientific proposal consolidated and published by KI, following the workshop. This would mark the end of the first step, and pave the way for subsequent public consultation, policy analysis, and further scientific recommendations.

The signing of the collective agreement in Depok calls for celebration, but it is also a drop in the ocean of work that has led up to this point. Much of the progress thus far has been catalyzed by the success of the StAR Project and the tireless dedication of the Indonesian Implementation Working Group. Chaired by Head of the West Papua Province Regional Research and Innovation Agency (BRIDA), Prof. Charlie Heatubun, the Working Group is made up of representatives from various local partners including BRIDA, BRIN, KI, Thrive Conservation, RARCC, and Misool Foundation. From managing the acquisition of various permits and ensuring smooth imports of the eggs, release of pups and research work to all forms of logistical coordination, the Working Group spearheads all things in-country.

KI staff assisting with the release of Mali in Misool. Photo by Konservasi Indonesia.

Prof. Charlie Heatubun, George Yarangga (Acting Mayor of Sorong), Meizani Irmadhiany (Senior Vice President & Executive Chair of Konservasi Indonesia) and Dr. Erin Meyer (left to right) at the launch of the StAR Project, Nov. 2022.

SPOTLIGHTING KONSERVASI INDONESIA

As nascent as the StAR Project still is, the roles of each partner remains ever dynamic yet always complementary. “While our staff, such as our Bird’s Head Seascape Shark Science and Management Coordinator Abdi Hasan, do regularly assist with things like egg shipments and post-release monitoring, KI primarily manages relations with multiple levels of government to not only ensure strong local ownership of the StAR Project but also sustained national-level support,” Iqbal explains. “One of the most crucial elements that KI brings to our coalition is our long history working in Raja Ampat and our positive relations with local and national government agencies which we can leverage on. Our reciprocal trust with the government, who are often the kingpin in any in-country execution, is hard to come by and hence vital to maintain.”

BRIDA was brought on board in the early stages as the lead government agency for the StAR Project’s work in Indonesia. This important partnership was fronted by Iqbal and his predecessor Abraham Sianipar (who now leads Elasmobranch Institute Indonesia and is part of the ReShark Council).

“From the get-go, we were deliberate in engaging Prof. Charlie and his team, the Governor of West Papua, as well as other stakeholders such as the special staff to the President of the Republic of Indonesia, and representatives from various departments of MMAF at the maiden high-level meeting in May 2021 and later on at the gala launching ceremony in Nov. 2022, which included a tour of our RARCC nursery at Kri Island,” Iqbal shares.

“Our partnership with the government is in fact a virtuous circle — prior to the StAR Project, the state of leopard sharks in Indonesia was hardly at the forefront of anyone’s minds. We brought it to the government’s attention. In turn, they appreciated the importance of the project and helped to elevate the species into a conservation icon. We are once again working with them to build on the StAR Project’s momentum and secure national protection for the threatened species.”

Government officials and media personnel given a tour of the RARCC nursery by Nesha Ichida following the launch of the StAR Project.

Indeed, the progress of the StAR Project in Raja Ampat, a region with well-established Marine Protected Areas offering full protection for sharks and rays, begs the question — what is the point of rewilding if the species is not accorded similar levels of protection nationwide?

In reality, leopard sharks are still being fished out in significant numbers from places like neighboring Fak Fak and Kaimana. According to trafficking data obtained by the Serang Coastal and Marine Resources Management Agency (LPSPL) and presented by Santoso Audi Widiarto, exports of leopard sharks have proliferated since 2021. That year, 26 live animals and 3,513.9kg of dried skin were exported from Indonesia. In 2023, 98 live animals and a whopping 10,503.2kg of dried skin (which roughly translates to more than 4,000 animals) were exported. It remains unclear what the specific locations and genetic origins of these animals are.

Looking ahead, if a law to fully protect the species is passed, there will surely be tangible effects. Indonesia’s 2014 legislation (4/KEPMEN-KP/2014), which fully protects oceanic and reef manta rays, is a case in point. Fishing of the animals throughout Indonesia was immediately banned, effectively establishing the world’s largest manta ray sanctuary. Even places like Lamakera which had longstanding manta-hunting traditions saw a drastic reduction of catch. By 2018, existing supply chains of manta products were significantly broken and overall manta catch in Lamakera had fallen by 91.7%, as reported by Misool Foundation.

National protection of leopard sharks, which have likely become locally extinct throughout much of Indonesia, is the final piece of the puzzle in guaranteeing maximum efficacy of the StAR Project’s recovery efforts in Raja Ampat and beyond.

“The StAR Project, which sets a high bar through our stringent and credible selection criteria, protocol and post-release monitoring, has been and will continue to be a good avenue for KI to familiarize the concept of rewilding with the government,” Iqbal emphasizes. “Whether we are thinking of the next species or location for rewilding, I do foresee the need to adopt parallel actions of project implementation as well as policy push, like what we’re currently doing with the StAR Project, to be successful.”