The video story above is by Our Better World
People are often quick to associate sharks with just one breed: the great white. In large part because of the movie Jaws, the great white has become the face of nearly all sharks. I wanted more people to appreciate the many other species of less or non-aggressive sharks that one can swim with freely and revel in their magnificence.
That’s why I started The Dorsal Effect. I wanted to help shark fishermen to find an alternative source of livelihood so that they can stop hunting sharks. Many times, shark fishermen are demonized nearly as much as the sharks themselves. In most cases, they’re supporting families by any means necessary. And if there’s another way to support their family, I wanted to help them find that opportunity. So how does it work? I thought it’d be great for people looking for a chance to do good to receive something they like in return. It’s not charity.
Guests pay for an unforgettable experience in Lombok, Indonesia. The fishermen there take the guests out in their boats to pristine snorkel sites and amazing, secluded beaches, far away from the usual tourist areas. The fair wages the fishermen receive keep them away from hunting sharks.
I’m not ashamed to say that it was the love for sharks more than wanting to help the fishermen that spurred me to set up the social enterprise. People like me who love sharks often get enraged when we see pictures of them being killed. But as I got involved in the lives of the fishermen, I came to understand that it is not their fault that sharks are dying.
Since there isn’t a viable, alternative source of income for them, hunting sharks is their way of getting by, and it’s not without its hardships. They often at sea several weeks at a time because the shark population has been so depleted they keep having to go out further and further to hunt.
I wanted to build a sustainable model for self-empowerment and I’ve been amazed at the small transformations I’ve seen in the fishermen. When I see them offering to help guests on their own accord – putting a life vest under the head of a guest dozing off on the boat – I know they have taken ownership of the project. So I keep encouraging them (without forcing it down their throats) to make money from ecotourism instead of shark hunting.
I am still far from my dream of seeing many shark fishermen make a full switch to ecotourism. I still have so much more to learn about sustainable fishing, sharks tagging and coral reefs protection, first in Lombok, and then in other shark markets around the world. However, with each boat trip that I bring guests on, I know this dream is taking shape. Someone who came on one of our boat trips recently told me: “We are only as big as the dreams we dare to live.” So I dream big, since dreaming small costs the same as dreaming big.
If you’d like to know more about The Dorsal Effect, check out their website, and if you’re going to be in Lombok, you can book a boat trip here.
