Thresher Shark Project 2022

Thresher shark mortality has dropped more than 80% since the initial intervention in August 2021.

Nine out of 15 fishers have now embraced the new alternative livelihoods, such as focusing on tuna and red snapper fisheries, starting a small kiosk, and land-based business. This success was made possible because of the incentives of the provision for better and safer boats, the bigger capacity of the engine, capital to start businesses, and a series of capacity-building. The fishers have signed a formal agreement between Thresher Shark Indonesia and the village government to 100% stop thresher shark fisheries, including the obligation to release the sharks when accidentally caught as bycatch. With the key fishers are now moved away from shark fishing, we recorded that shark mortality has dropped more than 80% since the initial intervention in August 2021.

These successes have increased our organization's trust and credibility among the government and stakeholders that we worked with. There is now demand and momentum to continue marine conservation initiatives through our project to help the government of Alor and communities in achieving sustainable marine conservation. Especially, pioneering the protection of the pelagic thresher sharks in Indonesia.

Thresher sharks are now included within the new Alor MPA zoning. As a response to this, we need to assist the process of the establishment so it can be officially enacted by the Indonesian Ministry of Marine and Fisheries Affairs (MMAF). We need to ensure that layers of additional policies and field activities are in place to complement the regulation.