Divers Find 5 Dead Sharks On The Coast Of Raja Ampat

SORONG - Members of the Professional Divers Association of Divers Raja Ampat (PADRA) found five dead blackfin shark cubs in the coastal area of Meoskun Village in Raja Ampat Regency, West Papua.

PADRA chairman Ruben Sauyai said via text message service on Tuesday that members of his community found the carcasses of five blackfin shark cubs on the beach after diving with foreign tourists in the Meoskun area yesterday.

"It is possible that the calf ate the bait of fishermen who were fishing and was considered a nuisance so that the shark was thrown ashore," he said, adding that there were scars on the carcasses of five shark cubs that were found on the beach, reported by Antara, Tuesday, June 21.

Head of the Regional Public Service Agency, Technical Implementation Unit of the Regional Water Conservation Area Service of West Papua Province, Syafri Tuharea said that the five shark cubs probably died because they were caught in fishing rods.

He said that the agency had actually provided counseling to fishermen to release non-target fish that had entered their fishing gear while fishing.

"We have conducted socialization to the community in the area to avoid fish that are not the target of bait. If it can be released again into the sea," he said.

According to information published on the official website of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the black fin shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) lives in shallow coral reef ecosystems, at a depth of about 30 meters.

The shark whose population is spread in tropical and subtropical waters with warm temperatures is not yet included in the list of protected wildlife in Indonesia and is in the near threatened category according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).