Faqih Akbar Alghozali
Who I am
I was born and raised in a Javanese household in South Tangerang, a city on the outskirts of one of the busiest capitals in the world – Jakarta. Although I grew up far from the ocean, it was always my favourite place to visit, especially over a weekend or on long holidays with my family. My love for the marine world only grew as I filled my days with encyclopaedias and books about the ocean and what was and continues to be my favourite animal, the shark. The documentaries and scientific television series I frequently watched further fuelled my admiration for sharks, leading to my decision to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in marine science. In my second year of college, my friend, who shares my passion for sharks, and I co-founded a marine megafauna conservation community called GAIA Conservation. I immersed myself in this community for the next three years, acquiring a vast amount of knowledge and a multitude of new skills and experience in shark and ray conservation. After that, I continued to be involved in various internships, research projects and training to further build my capabilities as a shark and ray researcher and conservationist. Since obtaining my Bachelor’s degree, sharks and rays have been an inseparable part of my life and work. As an aspiring researcher and conservationist, I believe I still have much to learn and also much to offer in terms of advancing shark and ray conservation, both nationally and globally.
Where I work
I am the co-founder and project leader of Elasmobranch Project Indonesia (EPI; Yayasan Hiu Pari Lestari). EPI is a local registered non-profit organisation working to support shark and ray conservation in Indonesia through citizen science, research and awareness campaigns. EPI also aims to map the biodiversity and distribution of shark and ray species in Indonesia with the help of citizen scientists. We are based in South Tangerang and are conducting two species-specific projects on rhino rays (giant guitarfish and wedgefish) in Karimunjawa National Park and on the Raja Ampat epaulette shark in the Raja Ampat archipelago, while also doing citizen science work and campaigns virtually.
What I do
My work with EPI varies. The behind-the-desk tasks range from securing project funding and analysing data from citizen science research to communicating results to stakeholders and donors, with the support of the whole EPI team. In the field, I am responsible for securing a comfortable environment for the team to work in and for taking the lead in collecting data from various research projects and in communicating with locals and the authorities. In general, the scope of my work is to make sure the EPI team operates well as a unit and to maintain the quality of our efforts, while providing a platform for the team to pursue careers in shark and ray conservation. I always make sure that our team consults from time to time with individual shark and ray experts from other NGOs, government institutions and other entities nationally or globally so that we can not only take our research forward, but also maintain important relationships and open doors to future collaboration. At present, I can confidently say that my team and I are capable of achieving various shark and ray conservation goals, especially in research. This work ranges from social research and communication with the local communities and stakeholders to ecological research projects such as those involving baited remote underwater videos, capture-mark-recapture, photo identification, genetic analysis, diet assessment and the collecting of landing data.