Capacity Building for Shark Conservation
SHOW NOTES
We start the episode at the beginning of Andrew’s career. Andrew has been fortunate to have worked in marine conservation and research for over two decades, and this has included some unforgettable ocean experiences – such as feeling the true power of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of French Polynesia [06.20]. But his connection to the Big Blue, and his fascination with sharks, is something that he cannot explain: “I’ve always just been, I don’t know, just always been an ocean person. Like always love sharks. I can’t even tell you how or why, or maybe I saw something on TV or a magazine, but I’ve always been into sharks since I was a kid.” A pivotal moment, however, was his first time seeing a shark in the wild, at age 13 [10.40]. Andrew was snorkelling on an island in Malaysia, called Tioman, when a blacktip reef shark swam by. “I was mesmerised by the way it was moving in the water, and the light, and like I came out of the water and was like, well, that’s it! I don’t need to worry about figuring out if I want to be an engineer or a pilot or whatever, it’s like, this is it.”
Although Andrew had a passion and determination to work with sharks, it took him a little while to actually get there [14.36]. This is a shared experience for many shark scientists and conservationists, as getting a job in the field straight after university is fairly rare. Following his undergraduate degree in marine biology, Andrew completed a second degree in teaching and his first ‘proper’ job was teaching high school science. But after that came a job in the tourism industry in a place called Heron Island, located in the Southern Great Barrier Reef. Living on a remote island, being in and on the water every day, gave valuable insights into ecology and animal behaviour that Andrew couldn’t have learned in a classroom. This led to a position with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority – a path that returned Andrew to sharks. “In those days no one cared about sharks. Like this was the, you know, late 90s…there was no real call for their conservation. They were pests. Aside from research on human safety with sharks, it was really really hard [to get funding]. There was not a lot happening, even in Australia, unless you were working on something like white sharks or grey nurse, which are very iconic.” The opportunity arose when famous shark scientists Colin Simpfendorfer and Michelle Heupel happened to move to Townsville, where Andrew was living. “That was a moment where it was like, wow, okay, if you want to do a PhD, now’s the time. So I quit my job, went off and became a student and did my PhD supervised by them. And you know, one thing led to another, and I’m now running the research lab at James Cook University, doing a lot of fisheries and shark work.”
Before getting into the work that Andrew does now, we take a brief detour to discuss the animals he has worked closely with: the sharks of the South Pacific [18.11]. This region is home to a huge diversity of elasmobranchs, thanks to its productive waters and variety of habitats. For example, the coral reef systems are bustling metropolises, supporting a number of reef sharks. These include the black tip sharks, white tip sharks, silver tip sharks and grey reef sharks. Found right in the shallows of those coral reefs might be the walking sharks (otherwise known as epaulette sharks), whereas on the seabed wobbegongs lie in wait for an unsuspecting fish to pass by. The reefs also attract wider-roaming species, like hammerhead sharks, who visit en route during their great migrations. Further offshore are the pelagics; oceanic whitetips, blue sharks, thresher sharks, bull sharks and tiger sharks. And, if you go deeper, chimaeras and gulper sharks hunt in the dark. “It’s a real mix. Even if you look at the Great Barrier Reef, there’s 140 species of shark. So you know, everything from your big whale shark to your tiny lantern shark or cookie cutter shark.”
Andrew’s work now concentrates on coastal ecology and fisheries, with a strategic focus on Asia [22.00]. The reason for this focus is because shark and ray species across the region are under immense fishing pressure. Indonesia is the world’s biggest shark fishery, with India not far behind. And many coastal shark and ray species are taken in very high numbers throughout Asia. This includes the highly endangered wedgefishes – one of the most threatened groups of animals on the planet. His research involves working with a diversity of stakeholders, from national and local governments, to fisheries organisations, to local communities and citizen scientists, which Andrew’s varied career history has prepared him well for.
One such experience was setting up the Great Barrier Reef ‘Eyes on the Reef Programme’, which now allows any visitor to the Great Barrier Reef the opportunity to contribute to its protection by collecting data on reef health, species, and potential threats [26.23]. The idea first started with the tourism operators. “This is where my experience [in the marine tourism industry] came in really, really useful.” Says Andrew. “I understood the industry, because I’d been part of it. And I understood how much these dive guides and these people who are on the water every day know about their local sites.” Andrew’s task was to try and build a system where this kind of information could be recorded, and to try and figure out an incentive for people to take part. “If you ask someone to do something for you for free, day in and day out, even the most enthusiastic person is going to stop doing it if they can’t see the reason why they’re doing it.” This was a valuable early lesson for Andrew, which he has carried forwards into his work today. “You have to be really, really careful about designing a citizen science program that is fit for purpose…So for example, if you expect just general, everyday novice divers to correctly identify whale sharks, you may be asking too much, right? Without providing folks with any really detailed help, training, guides, or having what we call QAQC, so Quality Assurance and Quality Control, at the end of the data to make sure that the data that are being recorded are cleaned and then coded to make sure the data is scientifically robust. You need those systems to be able to use this data. The other thing is it’s not cheap. It is not getting people to do your work for you for free. If you set up a citizen science program, you need to have a system in place to advertise it. You need ways to engage with people, to teach them how to use the system for them to be on board. Then you need to maintain that engagement that takes time and effort.Most importantly, you need to give something back. You need to report information back to them or show them how it’s being used because otherwise they’re just going to stop. They can’t see the point in it. They’re not going to continue. All of those things take time. So if you don’t have the budget or the resources to maintain that effort, don’t do it. Don’t even start because if you start and then you can’t follow through, all you’ve done is disenfranchised and, you know, failed to meet the expectations of a whole bunch of people who could be allies or advocates for ocean conservation.”
The problem of inadequate training and resources also bleeds into research and fieldwork [36.30]. Working with different stakeholders, like fishers, takes a lot of time and effort, especially towards build trust and relationships. A key aspect of this is providing feedback, and giving back to the communities that participated in the research. But often, resources don’t allow for this – or, the researchers are not trained in how to do so. “The number one complaint I get from stakeholders, including fishermen, is that researchers come in, they do their stuff, and then they never hear from them again. And people are like well, why would I bother? Why would I bother to help you?”.
For Andrew, collaboration and building sustainable, solid relationships with a diversity of stakeholders is key. This is reflected in Shark Search Indo-Pacific, a long-term programme founded and directed by Andrew for the sustainable use, conservation and management of sharks and rays in the Indo-Pacific region [40.21]. This is a region that contains some of the world’s most important biodiversity ‘hotspots’, but scientific knowledge of its sharks and rays is patchy. Shark Search aims to fill these knowledge gaps. It begins by finding out which species occur in each country, a process that involves working with in-country partners and collaborators to gather all the information they can find. This includes photographs from divers, journal entries, social media posts, anecdotal evidence and fisheries records. Everything is compiled into a comprehensive list of the species in that country, along with any potential threats, current management strategies, and any research gaps. This is then used as a ‘place-holder’, from which a plan can be made and developed with the project partners to implement meaningful on-the-ground activities in that particular location. “We want to see work that has value, in helping set policy and change the way things happen on the water.” Says Andrew.
A term that gets thrown around a lot when it comes to conservation is ‘capacity building’, especially when it comes to more locally grounded approaches [45.10]. This brings us back to one of Andrew’s earlier points, in that conservation projects need to be adequately supported in order to be effective and sustainable. And this requires capacity building at all levels. “Within government, we need capacity building for people to understand legislation and understand policy, understand theimportance of some of these international, you know, multilateral agreements like CITES, not just in the political sense, but actually in the ecological sense.” Explains Andrew. “So, you know, I live in the Philippines now and a lot of the fisheries management happens at the local government level, right? And these local government offices have got to do everything. So, you know, the burden on them, the management burden is immense. You can’t expect them to just know how to apply a policy or understand why it’s important to prioritize enforcing that policy. That work needs to happen. You need to build capacity within the leaders in fishing organisations and what we call civil society organisation like fishing co -ops and community groups who in Asia have a lot of power. They need capacity building to understand why they could be agents for change. That capacity building needs to happen.” However, another vital aspect is supporting the conservation practitioners who are working at ground level, within grassroots organisations, to inspire change from the bottom-up. “These folks are working in really really tough places and have massive challenges. A lot of our NGO conservation practitioners, they’ve got university degrees which is fantastic. The levelof education is very good. But like you were talking about before, in university they don’t teach you how to run a stakeholder meeting or do stakeholder mapping or figure out who has the power ina community or how to run your own NGO. Conservation funding is rare. We need people to be equipped with the knowledge and capability to do their job. We need for people to be led by good people who know how to lead, motivate, build strategy, and make sure that you know, the talent that we have in the conservation sector is not lost.”
So how can we better support these bright minds in their endeavours [47.20]? Andrew believes this starts with recognising achievements outside of scientific publications and journal metrics – giving weight to evidence of real world impact, such as policy change, public outreach events or even a letter from stakeholders the researcher has worked with. “I think we need to make sure we have the systems to recognize all this other type of work that goes into impact on the ground. So recognizing that and then incentivizing it. You get rewarded for that work you do.” Andrew firmly states that the most ‘impactful’ part of his career does not lie in the number of publications he has, and in which journal, but in the work he has done to change how people operate in the ocean, and the relationships he has built with these people to bring about this change.
A step in the right direction is the Save Our Seas Foundation Conservation Fellowships, which were announced in 2023 as part of the Foundation’s 20th anniversary. They are intended to provide financial support to individuals working on shark and ray conservation projects, covering the living costs of the grantee – setting them apart from other similar grants, which often only fund the project costs. “We’ve got people here who need to have living wages and be supported to be valued for the work that they do. Because conservation cannot happen without these local people who have connections to the community and speak the language and understand the culture. They need to be supported. It’s not project -based. It’s the work of like running the organisation, creating the NGO, training staff as best as they are able.” It’s something Andrew would like to see more of. “Conservation is not drones and DNA samples or pamphlets or computers. It is people, and we should be investing in those people.”
You can find out more about the SOSF Conservation Fellowships here.
You can follow Andrew on social media (@spinnershark7), find out more about the Fish and Fisheries Lab here and Shark Search Indo-Pacific here.
ABOUT OUR GUEST
Dr Andrew Chin
Principle Scientist at James Cook University and Scientific Advisor for the Save Our Seas Foundation
Dr Andrew Chin is a fisheries scientist whose work focuses on shark and ray biology and ecology, and how the information from this research can be translated into conservation and sustainability. Specifically, Andrew is interested in how fishes use coastal and marine habitats and how patterns of use affect their vulnerability to pressures such as fishing, habitat loss and climate change. His recent research spans the life history and biology of sharks by means of tagging and acoustic telemetry, as well as risk assessment. As an applied scientist, Andrew is also very interested in how fishes, sharks and rays interact with people and how their populations can be managed, as well as in impacts on their populations.
Andrew grew up in South-East Asia but currently lives in Queensland, Australia, where he received his PhD from James Cook University. He has a diverse marine background, having worked as a marine biologist in the tourism industry and as an education officer in a public aquarium. He also spent 10 years working at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the Australian federal agency charged with protecting the Great Barrier Reef. In 2017, Andrew launched SharkSearch Indo-Pacific, an effort that blends formal research, citizen science and public outreach, and aims to develop a scientifically robust shark diversity checklist and conservation account for every country and territory in the Pacific by 2022. He is also one of the founders of the Oceania Chondrichthyan Society and a member of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group.
