BALI&BEYOND JULY 201140

ACTION&ATTRACTION

Sharks have been swimming the world’s oceans

for more than 400 million years — 100 million

years before the first dinosaurs appeared on

land. But today, shark populations are being

decimated by commercial fishing, putting

some species in danger of extinction. Sharks

have unfortunately fallen victim to the man-hungry stereotype

society has created for them. However, what the world should

really fear is a world without sharks. Each year, humans kill more

than 100 million sharks worldwide. This includes the tens of

millions of sharks that are caught annually for their fins, which are

one of the world’s most expensive seafood products.

Shark meat alone is not quite a tasty treat! And consumption

of shark meat can be dangerous. It contains high levels of

mercury, and moreover it is one fo the prime causes of food-borne

illnesses. Ciguatera is one of them. A foodborne illness caused by

eating certain reef fishes whose flesh is contaminated with toxins

originally produced by dinoflagellates such as Gambierdiscus

toxicus which lives in tropical and subtropical waters. These

dinoflagellates adhere to coral, algae and seaweed, where they

are eaten by herbivorous fish who in turn are eaten by larger

carnivorous fish - yours truly. In this way the toxins move up the

foodchain and bioaccumulate. So, all in all, the consumption of

shark meat is the last thing you would even think of. They’re better

left in the oceans and left to do their jobs.

As top or apex predators, sharks help to manage healthy ocean

ecosystems. And as the number of large sharks declines, the

oceans will suffer unpredictable and devastating consequences.

Sharks help maintain the health of ocean ecosystems, including

seagrass beds and coral reefs. Healthy oceans undoubtedly

depend on sharks.

Sharks as apex predators can regulate species abundance,

distribution and diversity, which in turn can impact the health of

marine habitats. Additionally, they provide essential food sources

for scavengers and remove the sick and weak from populations

of prey species. The decimation of these important shark species

In collaboration with the Kelompok Nelayan Serangan fishermen’s association, the Serangan Shark Project’s Shark Island creates Indonesia’s first environmentally friendly awareness towards sharks.

SHARK-SEEING IN SERANGAN

BALI&BEYOND JULY 2011 41

can have cascading effects throughout the ecosystems they

inhabit, resulting in economically and ecologically devastating

consequences.

Protecting sharks and allowing their populations to recover is

essential to restoring the health of our oceans.

Zooming in on the island of Serangan, on the southeast of the

Bali mainland, the Shark Island has been created with the above

concerns of teh species protection in mind. With the approval of

Kelompok Nelayan Serangan, Shark Island creates Indonesia’s first

environmentally friendly awareness towards sharks. The sharks are

housed in a controlled and safe 10x10-meter area. The purpose

of the project is to educate people of such issues that face the

endagered species such as over and illegal fishing, as well as how

sharks relate to and are needed to control the marine ecosystem.

Shark Island is for people of all ages and offers a state

of the art stainless steel cage for in water viewing. Sharks

are misunderstood as they carry a stigma of creating fear to

most people because of the way they have been portrayed by

Hollywood in movies.

Shark Island consists of a 1 are floating raft or pontoon which

is currently being used as a shark nursery. The nursery currently

houses 10 Black Reef Tip pups and 2 larger White

Reef Tip sharks. Shark Island is an eco-friendly

adventure and educational activity available for

guests, managed by the Kelompok Nelayan Serangan

fishermen’s association and marketed via the website

www.balisharks.com

The whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) is a

small shark usually not exceeding 1.6 m (5.2 ft) in

length, and this species is easily recognizable by its

slender body and short but broad head, as well as

tubular skin flaps beside the nostrils, oval eyes with

vertical pupils, and white-tipped dorsal and caudal fins.

One of the most common sharks found on Indo-Pacific

coral reefs, the whitetip reef shark occurs as far west

as South Africa and as far east as Central America. It is typically

found on or near the bottom in clear water, at a depth of 8–40 m

(26–130 ft).

During the day, whitetip reef sharks spend much of their time

resting inside caves. Unlike other requiem sharks, which rely on

ram ventilation and must constantly swim to breathe, this shark

can pump water over its gills and lie still on the bottom. At night,

whitetip reef sharks emerge to hunt bony fishes, crustaceans, and

octopus in groups, their elongate bodies allowing them to force

their way into crevices and holes to extract hidden prey. Individual

whitetip reef sharks may stay within a particular area of the reef for

months to years, time and again returning to the same shelter.

Females give birth to 1–6 pups every other year, after a

Shark Island is for people of all ages and offers a state of the art stainless steel cage for in water viewing.Sharks help maintain the health of ocean ecosystems, including seagrass beds and coral reefs. Healthy oceans undoubtedly depend on sharks.

CO

UR

TE

SY

NO

AA

PH

OT

OS

CO

UR

TE

SY

BA

LI S

HA

RK

S

BALI&BEYOND JULY 201142

gestation period of 10–13 months. Whitetip reef sharks are

rarely aggressive towards humans, though they may investigate

swimmers closely.

With its slender, lithe body, the whitetip reef shark specializes in

wriggling into narrow crevices and holes in the reef and extracting

prey inaccessible to other reef sharks. Whitetip reef sharks hunt

primarily at night, when many fishes are asleep and easily taken.

The new Shark Island on Serangan Island is located at Agus Bar

& Restaurant which has agreed to offer its location and amenities

as the point of pressence on land. It has also offered office

space and usage of the fronting pier. For reference regarding the

location, contact Budana on 081-239-876-55. The new project

provides economic benefits such as hiring within the community

for buildout, maintaining and operating the project, attracting

tourism that will spend within the community, purchasing of goods

from local vendors (food, gas, boat service, feed, etc.) and locally

managed and operated. The environmental benefits include a safe

environment to monitor and research the growth of sharks, the

education on the endangered sharks, enhancement of Serangan’s

current environmentally concious lead and it compliments other

eco-programs such as the turtle nurseries, Marine Garden,

coral reef, dolphins, etc. For more Kelompok Nelayan Serangan

information please contact Sopi on 081-337-099-498.

Shark Island currently is open 7 days a week from 7 am to 9

pm, and a 3-hour tour on offer includes: Shark Cage Dive (with

mask and snorkel), a Turtle Hatchery Tour, a Marine Garden

Aquarium Tour, as well as meals and refreshments. When you

wish to join a fun, educational and inspiring day out with the

sharks, be sure to bring a towel, camera, swimsuit, sunscreen...

and a big smile to share with the pups. The tour great education

for all ages, and all can help cultivate and preserve shark pups

from illegal and over fishing.

Tour of the Turtle Rescue Center where baby turtles are

hacthed and cultivated to be released back into their natural

environment also serves this similar purpose. Enjoy the Serangan

Marina Garden where rare fish exhibits feature over more than 100

species together with bright corals.

Free transportation is on offer for south of Ubud areas, while an

optional surcharge is applied for coral restoration and mangrove

tours. For further information, call 085-857-320-471, or email:

balisharks@gmail.com

www.balisharks.com

Shark Island consists of a 1 are fl oating raft or pontoon which is currently being used as a shark nursery. The nursery currently houses 10 Black Reef Tip pups and 2 larger White Reef Tip sharks.

PH

OT

OS

CO

UR

TE

SY

BA

LI S

HA

RK

S