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ReShark

BIODIVERSITY

For decades, captive breeding programs have boosted populations of terrestrial wildlife. But the approach had never been tried with marine species. Until now.

Recently, three zebra shark pups from a Sydney aquarium were the first endangered sharks ever to be bred in captivity and released into the wild — in this case, the protected waters of Indonesia’s Raja Ampat islands.

The pups are pioneers in a global effort known as ReShark, a partnership of nearly 80 aquariums, universities and environmental organizations, including Conservation International and our local partner Konservasi Indonesia.

A pair of zebra shark eggs in a shark hatchery in Raja Ampat, Indonesia.

500

ZEBRA SHARKS

Over the next decade, ReShark plans to release some 500 zebra shark pups.

Sharks are some of the most misunderstood, and threatened, species on the planet. We have an opportunity to give them a fighting chance.

Mark Erdmann, Conservation International marine expert

A wild idea

Once common in Raja Ampat, zebra sharks nearly vanished thanks to overfishing — yet their populations were thriving in public aquariums. Conservation International marine expert Mark Erdmann had an idea: If these sharks were released back into the wild to places where they wouldn’t be caught, they just might be able to avoid extinction.

So far, the effort is working, and over the next decade, ReShark plans to release some 500 zebra shark pups into Raja Ampat’s waters. The team has begun to explore new locations and is building hatcheries that should work for other shark species, and even rays.

Community members from Raja Ampat spent time at the Jakarta Aquarium training in shark handling and husbandry.