By: Kathy Xu, The Dorsal Effect
A Week Without Walls
The dorsal fins are one of the fins
commonly taken by shark fishermen to
export for soup, but the word “dorsal”
also means back, and with the goal
of ending shark fishing by positively
changing the back-end of the shark
fishing and finning trade, The Dorsal
Effect came to be. Kathy Xu, the founder
of The Dorsal Effect, wanted to end
shark fishing on the supply side of the
chain by providing the shark fishermen
with ecotourism as an alternative
source of livelihood.
Based in Lombok, The Dorsal Effect
has been saving sharks by hiring shark
fishermen to take tourists out for
snorkelling boat trips that set off from
Tanjung Luar fish market – the very fish
market that dead sharks are hauled in
at daily.
In October last year, The Dorsal
Effect brought a group of 62 Grade 11
students from the ISS International
School in Singapore to Lombok for
a marine conservation service and
learning trip for their Week Without
Walls. On the trip, the students were
exposed to the shark hunting situation
at Tanjung Luar and were brought
to the shark landing site to do data
collection with Wildlife Conservation
Society. They were also taken to the
shark processing plant where the fins
were dried. To expose them to the
social and economical side of the issue,
we brought them to a nearby island
to visit the ex-shark fishermen and
understand their side of the situation.
During the reflection session with
the group, the students shared about
how horrific it was for them to see
so many dead sharks being landed,
while also wondering about what
other alternatives could be introduced
to the shark fishermen other than
ecotourism. The students were brought
on a full day snorkelling boat trip run
by the ex-shark fishermen and The
Dorsal Effect.
Apart from shark-related activities,
the students were also involved in coral
health checks and species ID-ing at the
various snorkel sites. They also did a
beach cleanup and trash audit at one
of the beach stops to educate them on
the effect of plastics on the oceans.
Not only did they have an enjoyable
time snorkelling in the open waters
and seeing the different corals and
fishes, they also learnt about scientific
methods that were necessary for data
collection for marine conservation.
On the way back to Singapore, it was
heartening to hear the students telling
the restaurants that they did not want a
straw with their drink. ADABOVE: Shark fins
being dried at a
shark processing
plant
IMAGE: The Dorsal
Effecthttp://www.thedorsaleffect.com