February 5, 2026 | 10:07 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - With steady hands, Yolanda Wamear, 28, lifted a 20-by-10-centimeter egg case from an incubation pool at the Raja Ampat Research and Conservation Centre (RARCC) on Kri Island, Raja Ampat, Southwest Papua, on Wednesday, January 21, 2026. The ReShark conservation educator said the case contained a zebra shark (Stegostoma tigrinum) egg transported from an Australian aquarium. The zebra shark is an endangered species.
ReShark is an innovative international collaboration comprising national and regional governments, non-governmental organizations, universities, aquarium managers, and local communities, united by a mission to breed and release sharks and rays in a measured, science-based way. In Raja Ampat, ReShark runs the StAR (Stegostoma Tigrinum Augmentation and Recovery) Project. Its breeding facilities operate at RARCC and on Kalig Island under the Misool Foundation.
According to Yolanda, who hails from Manokwari, West Papua, one of the main challenges in conserving the zebra shark—also known locally as hiu belimbing or cucut kembang—is poaching. Zebra sharks are caught for their fins, which are consumed, and for their skin, which can be fashioned into accessories such as handbags. “There are still local residents who consume them when they are accidentally caught,” said the 2022 marine science graduate of the University of Papua.
Besides releasing zebra sharks, Yolanda said, ReShark’s core program centers on educating the public about the species’ importance to Raja Ampat’s waters, the heart of the global Coral Triangle. The primary targets are school students and young people. “They help spread the conservation campaign to their parents and families,” she said.
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