ReShark: everything you need to know
Have you heard of the first-of-its-kind marine rewilding project that is reintroducing Leopard sharks in Raja Ampat? Allow us to introduce ReShark.
ReShark is an international collective of over 90 organisations with one mission: bringing endangered sharks back to the wild.
The first iteration is the StAR Project which is reintroducing Indo-Pacific Leopard sharks (Stegostoma tigrinum - also known as Zebra sharks in some regions) to Raja Ampat.
image courtesy of denielle heinrichs
why is reshark important?
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists Leopard sharks as endangered and their global numbers are rapidly decreasing. In Raja Ampat, they have been largely extirpated by intensive shark finning and are now functionally extinct. Without ReShark, Leopard sharks will not return to Raja Ampat in our lifetime.
Raja Ampat was chosen as a project location due to its extensive Marine Protected Area network. These well-protected waters offer the best chance of success - success being a self-sustaining population.
There are two nursery locations, one of which is at Misool Resort.
how does it work?
image courtesy of kyra wicaksano
1. Shark eggs are laid in an aquarium. Breeders ensure that the parent sharks are of genetically appropriate brood stock from the Eastern Indonesian-Oceania subpopulation. This is important as it ensures a healthy and resilient wild Leopard shark population.
image courtesy of kyra wicaksano
2. Eggs are carefully packed and then flown to Indonesia. Upon arrival, eggs undergo inspection and quarantine before continuing their journey to Raja Ampat.
3. Eggs are transferred to our purpose-built nursery and cared for by our on-site aquarists or 'Shark Nannies’. Misool Resort’s guests can pop in to the nursery and ask the Shark Nannies their burning questions.
4. When the pups hatch they are hand-fed sea snails and about one week after hatching, their colouration begins to shift from black and white stripes (hence the name Zebra shark in some countries) to the characteristic brown and beige leopard pattern.
image courtesy of alex lindbloom
5. Pups stay in the nursery until they reach the correct size and weight to be transferred to our in-water sea pen. While the pups acclimatise to their new habitat, the Shark Nannies continue to supplement their food and carefully monitor their development. Once the pups are of a suitable size and weight, they are fitted with a tiny acoustic tag so we can follow their movements.
image courtesy of marit miners
6. Pups are released into the wild. The Misool Marine Reserve is well protected by the Misool Rangers, so we can release the sharks directly into the waters around Misool Resort. This is an ambitious programme and the first of its kind. The goal is to release 500 sharks to reach a self-sustaining population.
image courtesy of mark erdmann
7. Leopard shark populations bounce back! We released our first shark, Mali, in July 2023, and since then regular shipments of eggs have been making the journey to Raja Ampat and many more sharks have been released into the wild.
A secondary goal of the project is to learn everything we can about how to use captive-bred broodstock to safeguard wild populations, and then apply this knowledge to other endangered shark and ray species.
Stay up to date on ReShark news by following their fantastic socials: Facebook - Instagram - YouTube
We extend our deepest gratitude to our invaluable partners and supporters who made this vision possible including the West Papua Provincial Government and the Southwest Papua Provincial Government.
