Endangered zebra sharks, nearly 500, raised in captivity by an organization are planned to be released in Indonesia to revive biodiversity and the self-sustaining wild population that has been on the brink of extinction, as a first global attempt. 

The organization, called ReShark, will be attempting the release and is already planning efforts to try the same with other shark species around the world. Nesha Ichida, an Indonesian marine scientist aiding the efforts for ReShark, said: “It’s such a milestone... This is such a hopeful, momentous moment.”

Although sharks are one of the planet’s oldest vertebrates, going back more than 420 million years, they are considered the second-fastest disappearing group after amphibians today. According to Nick Dulvy, who served for 11 years as head of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Shark Specialist Group, over 37% of 1,199 species of sharks are threatened with extinction as a result of overfishing. 

'More eggs!'

Every year, millions of sharks are hunted and killed for their meat and their fins. Restricting overfishing would help protect the shark species as they are crucial for the health of marine life. 

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Zebra sharks are meant to survive near reefs that go from South Africa to Australia even as far as Japan and now they're threatened with extinction outside Australia. With zebra sharks being less vicious than regular sharks, they are easier to catch and because of that, mating among them decreased. 

For years, a marine scientist with Conservation International, Mark Erdmann, has been studying possibilities on how to reintroduce them into the oceans and shared his idea with Erin Meyer, vice president of conservation programs and partnerships at the Seattle Aquarium in 2018. “My initial reaction was like, ‘Oh, that's a fantastic idea,’” she said. 

This was all positive but the initiative is at risk of failing since young sharks are subject to diseases and being consumed by bigger sharks. As Meyer has been struggling to get the initiative to work, upon hearing that Ichida let the first baby shark go, she expressed: "I'm happy. And excited. And hopeful,” 

When asked what was coming next, she said: “More eggs! And the next species.”

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