Four zebra shark pups swish around in underwater pens near the islands of Raja Ampat in Indonesia, Southeast Asia. Baby sharks Kathlyn, Charlie, Mali and Audrey will be the first of 500 zebra sharks reintroduced into these waters over the next ten years.
Raja Ampat was once a healthy coral reef ecosystem with a large diversity of animals, including sea turtles, sharks, rays and more. But, sadly, destructive fishing methods, such as fishing with dynamite and scraping the seafloor, hurt the habitat. And fishers often hunted sharks to sell their meat and fins.
Fortunately, in the mid-2000s, the local government created protected marine areas with rules for fishing, scuba diving, jet skis and other activities. Even better, the government banned fishing for sharks and rays across a bigger area, and…
