Britania Hasiholan
Who I am
Currently working passionately to keep my feet wet in the marine conservation field, I grew up in a major city in Indonesia and decided to channel my love for the ocean and animals into a Bachelor’s degree in marine science. Since my early days at university, I have been drawn to marine megafauna, particularly sharks and rays. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, when it was difficult to find field-related activities, I tried to keep up to date with the latest workshops, webinars and training related to the conservation of marine megafauna. This passion led me to get hands-on experience monitoring shark and ray populations as part of my undergraduate thesis project. The area I chose is one of the most remote in Indonesia, but it has a high diversity of sharks and rays: Rote Island, East Nusa Tenggara. After finishing my Bachelor’s degree, I was awarded a Coral Catch Scholarship on the island of Gili Air, which not only supported my journey in conservation, but also shaped me into an advocate for the power of women in ocean science and conservation. This experience strengthened my belief that women can lead and inspire change in protecting the ocean. Today, I continue nurturing my passion for shark and ray conservation by working with a local organisation on Gili Air that approaches research into sharks as a means to link science, education and community for both local and international communities.
Where I work
I work with a women-led non-profit organisation, Gili Matra Bersama Foundation, that serves as an international marine research centre dedicated to ocean conservation through research, education and community. Located in north-western Lombok, we work with local stakeholders and communities to protect and increase awareness of the marine environment around the three islands of Gili Air, Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno, which together make up the Gili Matra Islands. We are based on Gili Air, but our daily activities cover shark, turtle and coral research and conservation across all the islands. This area has been one of Indonesia’s top tourism hotspots and was designated as a marine park in 2014. Marine activities, particularly diving and snorkelling, are the most popular with visitors and have become one of the islands’ main selling points. Our non-profit organisation has already built a close and formal relationship with the marine protected area/marine park authority and became the first organisation on Gili Air to establish a long-term memorandum of understanding with it.
What I do
As part of the research team, I focus on planning, coordinating and implementing our research objectives with a view to conserving the sharks of the Gili Matra Marine Park. This includes conducting underwater research such as monitoring shark populations and individuals, using underwater remote video and carrying out boat-based research. We also observe diving activity at the busiest dive sites around the islands. Community-based research using citizen science methods is also part of our work; as part of our long-term population monitoring, we collect information about shark and ray sightings from all the dive sites. Citizen science data are collected by our programme participants and dive centre collaborators, who provide us with weekly sightings reports. In addition, I deliver presentations and help build a learning–discussion ecosystem, serving as a mentor and go-to person for topics related to shark and ray research and conservation. Each day I also enter and analyse data for our research objectives. Through these approaches, I integrate the three main pillars of our organisation: science, education and community.