By: Kasman (Reef Check Indonesia)

The shark fin trade and illegal consumption of shark as a seafood menu has made this fish population increasingly threatened in Indonesian waters. In fact, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), out of at least one hundred shark species in Indonesia, 1 shark species is categorized as critically endangered (critically endangered), 5 species are rare (endangered), 23 species are categorized as vulnerable to extinction (vulnerable), and 35 shark species have near threatened status (near threatened).< br />

To the general public, sharks are extremely dangerous marine life. In fact, some movies reflect the ferocity of sharks eating humans. In fact, there may be fewer humans eaten by sharks than there are humans who eat sharks.

If ordinary people dream of never meeting sharks, #XPDCALORFLOTIM divers are actually entertained by their arrival. Simply seeing and taking a few pictures of sharks made us very happy.

Sometimes, in the middle of a quiet observation transect of target fish, it suddenly becomes crowded with the arrival of sharks. Feeling happy does not mean we are not afraid, we also remain alert to the presence of sharks. As long as they don't bother them, they certainly don't bother humans either.

In Alor and East Flores, it is easy to find sharks such as white tip shark (Triaenodon obesus) and black tip shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus)when diving. Coming face to face with sharks is a common experience, especially for the big and small fish recorders in our team.

From all the observation sites inside and outside the Aquatic Nature Sanctuary (SAP) of Alor and East Flores, we encountered this top predator of the food chain in more than 10 locations.

This charismatic fish is very often found swimming freely in the water column in schools or alone. During monitoring at the East Flores SAP core zone point, big fish recorders came face to face with a large number of sharks, both white tip and black tip shark. This location had the most shark encounters compared to other locations.

Encountering sharks while diving is good news - it means the reef ecosystem is still in balance.