Raja Ampat, Halmahera, North Maluku, and Papua are a part of The Coral Triangle where you can find the “walking shark.” Near beaches or coastal waters are these national treasures of a shark’s natural habitats. Though they are still sharks that many people know for traveling thousands of kilometers in their lifetime, these cute, petite, pretty looking sharks are contradictory from what we originally know about sharks. Instead of eating prey as big as a seal, these sharks nibble on small fishes and a variety of crustaceans who hide between corals. There you can find other aesthetically pleasing fishes like parrotfish that have a unique glow on their skin or the movie adapted fish, the clownfish.

Fahmi, currently is a principal researcher at the Research Centre for Oceanography in the National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (BRIN). Besides that, he is also the Regional Vice-Chair of Asia in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Sharks Specialist Group. Given the titles, he must’ve gone through a long tiring learning process. Writing dozens articles that got quoted by more than 864 times since 2020, a researcher in one of the first journals to map out the sharks and rays in Indonesia in 2006, and an uncounted amount of times learning about sharks in his lifetime, he is easily one of the shark experts there is.

After two decades spending time studying different sharks and rays in Indonesia, Fahmi is one of the few people who can witness the beauty of Hemiscyllium Halmahera first hand. Long before sharks and rays became a trend in Indonesian research topics, he had already taken the commitment to explore the country’s marine life himself.

A Shark, that walks

His decision pursuing oceanography wasn’t rooted in curiosity, interest, or a childhood dream he can finally make reality. Back then this field of study looked like a beach discovered by chance–quiet and unexplored. This makes him swim further in the cool waters under the warmth of the setting sun. The ocean, which is filled with possibility, surprises, uncertainties, and mysteries, kept him going. It allows him to enjoy every step of this journey.

Twenty-five years can be considered a long time to be passionate about fishes, right? Well that’s how long it takes for him to memorize hundreds of species of fish. It started when he joined the Indonesian Institute of Sciences in the early 2000s. Though he has made dozens of places his research grounds, yet only one species brings a subtle smile to his face. With pride, he explained about the walking shark.

This species of epaulette shark was said to be first found in 1824 in Raja Ampat Islands based on an 1824 drawing found in the University of Amsterdam’s Iconographia Zoologica Special Collections, based on an article in Poseidon’s Web. This first species of unique shark is called  Hemiscyllium Freycineti.

In a journal published in July 2013 titled “Hemiscillium halmahera, a new species of Bamboo Shark (Hemiscylliidae) from Indonesia on Aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology volume 19, Gerald Allen and other researchers conducted research in Halmahera, North Maluku, Indonesia. They identified a new shark species. Distinguishable by its two to three brownish colored polygonal spots scattered across this shark’s body, it is a special endemic species of small shark in Indonesia.

Hemiscyllium Halmahera, or what this “walking shark” is scientifically called, has a relatively unique body shape when compared to other shark species. A new research paper from Conservation International, the University of Queensland, the Indonesian Institute of Science, The Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, and the University of Florida published in the journal Marine and Freshwater Research has a quite shocking fact. From the journal titled “Walking, swimming, or hitching a ride? Phylogenetics and biogeography of the walking shark genus Hemiscyllium,” it is said that walking sharks are the most recently evolved shark in the world. This statement is quite shocking to the scientific world, since sharks have been around for millions of years and are one of the most ancient animals to swim in the ocean.  From the four fins on its sides that act like legs, a transverse shaped mouth for chewing food horizontally, to an overall body length of only about 70cm, this species is indeed different but averagely easy to identify when it is in their natural habitat.

What differs this epaulette shark from the sharks we know from the movies we usually watch is their overall looks and the way the ‘shark’. An article from Shark Stewards that’s titled “Walking Shark Protected in Indonesia,” talked about how the epaulette shark has a slender body that has large black eye-like spots with marginal ring widely spaced black spots on its body. With its paddle-like pectoral and pelvic fins, these sharks will glide across water pools along the coastline. Instead of having a large triangle shaped mouth, epaulette sharks have a flat horizontal mouth shape to munch on food. In an article published in July 2022 titled “Meet the Walking Shark,” by Oceanic Society, walking sharks are said to prey on crustaceans like crabs and shrimps, worms, and small fish. With its natural habitat being near coastal areas like beaches, they have adapted to occasionally crawl onto shorelines to look for food.

Known by its various names throughout people that saw them– Hemicyllium the latin name of this so-called walking shark is a kind of cartilaginous fish that shared the same family as most sharks and rays, called Chondrichthyes. The walking sharks can be found in eastern part of Indonesia like in Maluku, Northern Maluku, West Papua, and Papua near New Guinea. All these places shared a similarity, they are full with coral reefs, a habitat where epaulette sharks thrive.

Every animal has a role in the ecosystem, so do sharks. Based on a journal title “Importance of sharks in ocean ecosystem,” written by Motivarash Yagnesh and others, published in Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies in January 2020, sharks have multiple functions to the ocean. One of the many roles they serve is being a predator. Many sharks are apex predators, they control the population of the prey in their ecosystem and “groom” them to the right size and amount so that there is no overpopulation and crowding. Even when the walking shark’s size is no way near its other relatives like the great white shark, it is still an apex predator in its habitat. They feed on coral fishes, shrimps, crabs, worms, and other animals roaming against the sand. Therefore, walking sharks are serving their job to maintain the healthy amount of prey in its ecosystem.

What’s running after them?

Raja Ampat, a place with crystal -clear waters and incredible marine biodiversity, also the home of walking sharks, is often described as paradise on earth. But nowadays, it’s battling mining activities. A public outcry has targeted those who are responsible for the potential irreversible damage caused by mining. It’s an issue that deeply concerns Fahmi as an oceanography researcher.

This had already happened in Halmahera—the place where the discovery of the walking shark happened. It used to be so easy to find walking sharks around the coast, but nowadays it is harder to find them. They just vanished away since nickel mining flourished in Halmahera. Human activity like mining or land development in general inevitably poses threats to the natural environment. Walking sharks on the other hand are an endemic species, they cannot free far when their habitat is no longer livable.

Setting them free

Based on the 2020 assessment, the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KPP) stipulated the Ministerial Decree No.30 of 2023 on the full protection of walking sharks. This is a step the Indonesian governments take regarding that all species of walking sharks in the world have entered the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Therefore, protection of walking sharks is not only the government’s job. It needs to reach the grassroots which are the communities, the people. This is why the National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (BRIN) is currently working with local governments and social organizations to raise awareness of the following issue. With ongoing community campaigns, governments hope that the locals living near the walking shark habitats like Maluku and Papua can understand the potential danger and help save the one of a kind shark species.

UMNPicture 4: Posts from aquaindonesia.id, oceanpulse.id, and konservasi Indonesia instagram account, giving information about walking sharks in Indonesia from 2020 – 2024

To the date this article was written, there are only six types of walking sharks that have been discovered in Indonesian waters. It is specifically found around Papua and Maluku. “They are truly endemic. They can’t swim far–not even across islands,” he explained firmly. Even though it seems like breeding this walking shark is easy due to their hardiness, their habitats must remain intact. Their natural habitat must remain pristine in order for them to still exist in the waters. A damaged habitat could easily erase even the toughest sharks.