PROJECT TIGER

At nightfall on the island of Lombok, Indonesia, myself, two scientists, two photographers & 11 shark fishermen set sail for the open ocean that connects Indonesia to attempt something that has never been done before. We returned to shore having been the first crew to ever tag tiger sharks in Indonesian waters.

Our home for these nine days was two shark fishing vessels, Pratama 01 and Pratama 03, Each having the capacity to fish large numbers of sharks every month, yet both refraining from fishing to make our mission possible.

Our first shark, Surya, meaning “Sun” was tagged alongside our main vessel, Pratama 01 with a satellite tag that will transmit location and temperature. The very next day, the last day before we would be forced to turn home due to weather and limitations of time, we caught our second shark, a young female, Samara, named after the daughter of the captain of our vessel.

These two sharks will continue to send us data for the next six months if all goes well, even longer if we are lucky. This data will be incredibly significant for two reasons,

1.There is no published data on the movements of tiger sharks in Indonesian waters

2.Through this information we will be able to identify important times or areas to the sharks, allowing us to focus our efforts of diverting shark fishing boats with alternative income through tourism.

The relevance of this research being the first of its kind is heightened by the fact that the shark fishermen themselves made this possible. Abandoning their ability to make money from fishing this month, showing us their spots and being open to handling a shark for the first time in their life was the foundation of our success and a beacon of hope for the future.

We have every intention to continue this pilot study with the placement of more tags, but for now, we consider this mission a success to not only the vulnerable shark species of Indonesia, but the men who fish them, who proved that anything is possible.

This operation would have ceased to exist without the help of, Miami based scientist Chelsea black and Local Indonesian Scientist Mahardika Rizqi Himawan. In addition Tanner Mansell and Caragh Fraser who documented… and to everyone that supported and made this possible, our largest donors being Lil Heroes NFT's by Edgar Plans,  The Explorers Club and Discovery and of course you…

Regards,

Madison Stewart,

Image captured by Tanner Mansell