ReShark

Check out Issue 8 of The ReSharker 🦈 A powerful start to 2026 — this issue of The ReSharker marks 75 Indo-Pacific leopard shark pups released to date, including 17 new releases in Raja Ampat. These moments were shared with partners, the Governor and Vice Governor of Southwest Papua, and local schoolchildren — the next generation now actively involved in caring for and learning about these animals. Across the network, momentum continues to build. In Thailand, a completed Population Viability Analysis is helping guide the program forward, alongside sea pen upgrades and a new cohort of pups. Meanwhile, pioneering science is pushing boundaries — from expanding satellite telemetry and second rendition of GASSE to the first dual-tagged bowmouth guitarfish in the Southern Hemisphere! Read more — link in bio! 🔗 #ReShark #TheReSharker #Newsletter #StARProject #Conservation

We’re just getting started! 🦈🪸 Check out our 5-YEAR IMPACT REPORT and SUPPORT US in our mission to rewild our ocean’s threatened sharks and rays by donating at bit.ly/reshark-donate (🔗 links in bio)! 📸 Cover photo by @alexlindbloomphoto #ReShark #StARProject #LeopardShark #ZebraShark #Ocean #Conservation #Shark #Rewilding #Indonesia

Ocean Dreams, narrated by @shailenewoodley , is a breathtaking new Giant Screen documentary that takes audiences on a global adventure beneath the waves, uncovering the beauty and mystery of our oceans. The film also highlights @resharkorg ’s work with the StAR Project in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Launching globally on World Oceans Day, June 8 — stay tuned! Watch the full trailer at the link in our bio! 🍿 @deepseaproductions @skfilmsto @voiceoftheoceanfoundation #ReShark #OceanDreamsMovie #OceanDreams #ProtectOurOcean #DocumentaryFilm

Honoured to welcome Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism, Widiyanti Putri Wardhana, and the @kemenpar.ri team to Kri Island, Raja Ampat 🌊🇲🇨 As part of the @resharkorg global network, RARCC is proud to support the StAR Project in restoring Indo-Pacific leopard shark populations in Raja Ampat alongside fellow conservation partners and local communities. During the visit, our Founder, Max Ammer, also had the pleasure of showing the Minister around @papuadivingresorts , including the bungalows and resort area, while sharing the importance of sustainable tourism and marine conservation working hand in hand in Raja Ampat. Thank you for the visit and support towards the future of Indonesia’s marine conservation. #RARCC #PapuaDivingResorts #ReShark #StARProject #MarineConservation

Our StAR Indonesia team was honoured to welcome the Republic of Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism, Widiyanti Putri Wardhana (@kemenpar.ri ), and her team to our @rarcc nursery on Kri Island during her recent visit to Raja Ampat! 🇮🇩🦈 Hosted by @papuadivingresorts Founder and Director Max Ammer alongside the aquarist team, the visit included a tour of the nursery and discussions around our mission to rewild Indo-Pacific leopard sharks in Raja Ampat. The Minister also learned more about the project’s outreach and education efforts with local communities, an integral part of ensuring long-term conservation success in the region. 📸 @rarcc #ReShark #StARProject #LeopardShark #Conservation #Indonesia

Not just spotted: studied, protected, and prepared. 🦈 These baby leopard sharks (Stegostoma Tigrinum) are part of a carefully managed rewilding program here at Maiton Island, Thailand. Before they ever reach the open ocean, they spend time in a protected sea pen off Maiton Island, where they’re monitored, fed, and gradually introduced to natural conditions. Here, they learn the basics of survival: how to forage, how to navigate their environment, and how to build the strength they’ll need in the wild. Each individual is also photo-identified by its unique spot pattern, creating a living database that helps scientists track their journey long after release. This stage is critical, because survival in the wild doesn’t start at release, it starts here. In a region where leopard shark populations have declined, projects like this are rebuilding not just numbers, but resilience. It’s slow, hands-on work powered by collaboration between conservationists, scientists, governments and local partners. With thanks to @wildaid , @oceanbluetree , @resharkorg and the StAR Project Thailand coalition for making this possible. Swipe through to see the next generation—learning how to become wild again 🦈🌊

Guess where OUR SHARKS have been? 🦈 Earlier this April, our StAR Thailand team worked with partners @dmcrth and @pr_dnp_official to retrieve data from the acoustic array across Phang Nga Bay. Movements were detected from three sharks: Maiton, Hope, and Similan. Maiton, released in December, stayed relatively local, traveling 75 km in 79 days. Hope covered 121 km in just over 3 months, including an incredible 45 km in ONE day. Similan, our longest track so far, has traveled 129 km in 192 days since her release last September. This is why acoustic tracking matters. We are not just releasing sharks. We are learning how they survive and move in the wild! 🌊 📸 @dmcrth @pr_dnp_official @wildaid @oceanbluetree #ReShark #StARProject #LeopardShark #Conservation #Thailand

BANGER start to @sharks.international 2026 here in Colombo! 🇱🇰🦈 We kicked things off with a Shark Rewilding workshop, co-hosted by Dr. Mark Erdmann and Dr. Charlotte Hopkins, with a big shoutout to our facilitators! With nearly 100 participants, we went wide on ocean rewilding and deep into what it takes to run an elasmobranch rewilding project. Insights came from Nesha Ichida and Metavee Chuangcharoendee (StAR Project), Dr. Steven Kessel (Shark Ray 360), and Dr. Christine Dudgeon on genetic considerations for rewilding. Our StAR Project shark nannies Mardia Sultan 🇮🇩 and Ramanya Mithara 🇹🇭 were up and running with their posters, sharing the behind-the-scenes aquarist work that brings eggs and pups all the way to release! To round out Day 1, Nathaniel Soon took the stage at the Science Communications session, speaking on the intersection of science communications and conservation impact through ReShark. @rewild @universityofhull @thriveconservation @spottheleopardsharkth @oceanbluetree @wildaid @shedd_aquarium @biopixeloceans @rarcc #ReShark #SharksInternational #SI2026 #Rewilding #Conservation

Do sharks have personalities? 🦈👀 Turns out, they might not be so different from us… Some stick to their favorite resting spots, others are always on the move. Some prefer the deep, while others hang out in the shallows. Some keep to themselves, while others are way more social! After spending hundreds of hours observing and caring for our Indo-Pacific leopard sharks every single week, our StAR Indonesia aquarists — Mardia from our @rarcc nursery at Kri and Annisa from our @misoolfoundation nursery — certainly know these sharks better than anyone! They’ve also spent time on exchange at each other’s nurseries for capacity building — and yes, they definitely have their favorites (and opinions). If only the sharks knew how much their nannies talk about them behind their backs… 🙊 📸 @qinthanaa @rarcc @misoolfoundation @pambajeng #ReShark #StARProject #Indonesia #RajaAmpat #Shark

How cute are these baby leopard sharks?! ♥️ They just reached an important milestone on their journey to the wild in Thailand! The young sharks recently graduated from the aquarium where they were born to an enclosed sea pen off the coast of Maiton Island. This transitional habitat is designed to help the sharks gradually acclimate to natural conditions and build the instincts they’ll need to survive in the wild. This effort is part of the StAR Project Thailand, the country’s first-ever leopard shark rewilding program. The goal is to restore populations of endangered Indo-Pacific leopard sharks (also known as zebra sharks), which play a vital role in maintaining the ecological balance that supports reef health and biodiversity. So far, seven leopard sharks have been successfully released through the program. Post-release monitoring shows promising results, with several individuals detected traveling across Phang Nga Bay months later. We’re proud to support projects like this, which are a critical part of WildAid’s work to raise awareness of the importance of sharks and build the public will needed to protect them! 📸: Valerie Cornet / WildAid / Ocean Blue Tree

🔬 NEW SCIENCE: How DEEP can the world’s largest fish really go? 🦈 New research on whale sharks shows they dive far deeper than we once thought, reaching an astonishing 1,978–2,527m beneath the surface. Whale sharks are usually found in the sunlit (epipelagic) zone, and previous records capped their dives at ~1,928m (largely limited by the depth sensors of earlier satellite tags). In this new study, a custom-calibrated finmount satellite tag (rated to 2,500m) deployed on a 7m juvenile male in the Coral Sea, Australia 🇦🇺, captured dives that extend their known depth range by up to ~600m. Co-authored by Dr. Mark Erdmann (Executive Director, @resharkorg ) and colleagues from @biopixeloceans , @rewild , @wildlifecomputers , @marinemegafauna and @unisc.australia , the findings highlight how advances in technology are revealing just how much of the ocean’s vertical world these giants truly use! 🛰 🔗 Read more here: /2673-9917/5/2/10 (link in bio!) #ReShark #NewScience #WhaleShark #OceanDiscovery #MarineScience

Coming to @sharks.international 2026 in Colombo, Sri Lanka? 🇱🇰🦈 Join us on Friday, May 8, 12:25–3:30pm at the Sirimavo Expo Centre, Hall B for our session: “Elasmobranch Reintroductions: The Future is Now.” Wrap up your SI2026 experience on a high note and hear how threatened sharks and rays are being returned to our ocean! Check out our speaker lineup here. Hope to see you there! #ReShark #Shark #Conservation #SharksInternational #Conference