Aquarium of the Pacific Partners with ReShark to Help Restore Endangered Zebra Sharks in the Wild
The Aquarium of the Pacific has partnered with ReShark to help to recover populations of endangered zebra sharks in Indonesia. The Aquarium is sending fertilized zebra shark eggs to support ReShark’s Stegostoma tigrinum Augmentation and Recovery Project (StAR Project), which is a global effort to restore endangered zebra sharks in regions where this species has disappeared or declined. The goal is for the zebra sharks to be tagged and released in a marine protected area in Raja Ampat once they have matured. Then they will be monitored to help ensure they adapt to their new environment.
When the Aquarium’s zebra sharks lay eggs, veterinary staff monitor the developing embryos inside via ultrasound. Once they are deemed healthy and ready for travel, eggs are sent to the Seattle Aquarium, a founding partner of ReShark. Seattle Aquarium prepares the eggs from partner facilities for transport to the zebra shark nurseries in Indonesia. The egg deliveries are timed so they hatch one month after they arrive at the nursery in Raja Ampat, where they are cared for by local aquarists who are part of this international conservation program.
“The Aquarium is thrilled to be part of this program to re-establish zebra shark populations in regions of the world where they are locally endangered and could face extinction. We’ve been working many years, including developing methods of artificial insemination, to produce more zebra shark offspring to help support these important conservation programs,” said Dr. Lance Adams, Aquarium of the Pacific veterinarian, who is part of the StAR Project Veterinary Working Group.
The Aquarium’s new role as a zebra shark egg breeding institution comes after several years of groundbreaking research done by its veterinary and animal care staff to support the global project. In 2013 the Aquarium became the first public aquarium to successfully reproduce zebra sharks through artificial insemination.
According to ReShark, “every shark selected for breeding undergoes rigorous screening for genetic provenance and reproductive viability to ensure the long-term health and sustainability of wild populations.” “We are very excited to welcome the Aquarium of the Pacific to our breeder roster. I’ve been following their team’s effort to have their broodstock produce viable eggs for StAR Project Indonesia for a few years now,” said Nesha Ichida, Project Manager of StAR Indonesia and Co-Chair of StAR Steering Committee.
Sharks serve an important role in their ecosystems. Zebra sharks are currently listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List mainly due to habitat degradation and human impact such as overfishing.