Rewilding Sharks
‘Arif’, an environmental journalist, is investigating the shark fishing trade in Surabaya, Indonesia. He speaks to industry insiders to understand the business - from the port where fishermen sell many varieties of sharks, to a drying facility where sharks are processed before exporters pick them up.
Shark fishing is legal in Indonesia, and sharks bring in good money. Some species are highly sought after. For example, leopard sharks are prized for their special skin. A fisherman revealed that he gets requests for up to 600kg of leopard shark in a month, worth about IDR282 million (US$18,000).
Rewilding Sharks - Inside the lucrative trade of shark fishing in Indonesia
‘Arif’, an environmental journalist, is investigating the shark fishing trade in Surabaya, Indonesia. He speaks to industry insiders to understand the business - from the port where fishermen sell many varieties of sharks, to a drying facility where sharks are processed before exporters pick them up.
Shark fishing is legal in Indonesia, and sharks bring in good money. Some species are highly sought after. For example, leopard sharks are prized for their special skin. A fisherman revealed that he gets requests for up to 600kg of leopard shark in a month, worth about IDR282 million (US$18,000).
Rewilding Sharks
For centuries, leopard sharks roamed the waters of Raja Ampat, Indonesia until commercial fishing pushed them to the brink of extinction. Now, a team of scientists and locals are racing against time to bring them back.
This is the untold story of Nesha Ichida, a marine biologist leading a groundbreaking effort to rewild leopard sharks in their native waters. Her mission begins with Myra, a pup shark, whose survival depends on Nesha’s ability to teach her the harsh ways of the wild. Myra will struggle to hunt, compete with other predators, and navigate the wild waters she was born to inhabit.Â
Meanwhile, Nesha faces her own battle: combating the illegal fishing that continues to ravage Indonesia’s oceans. As the fight for survival intensifies, an unexpected bond forms between scientist and shark—a bond that blurs the lines between human and animal, between hope and despair, as both Nesha and Myra embark on a journey to find their way back to the wild.
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