Whale shark tourism in Sumbawa, Indonesia proves that the blue economy can improve the welfare of local communities and strengthen marine wildlife conservation. Photo: CI Indonesia
by IGG Maha Adi
It was four o’clock in the morning and it was still dark, but Maulinna Utaminingsih, 38, was already preparing herself. She had to board the boat immediately in order to be ready to sail for the next two hours out to sea. She is a traveller from Jakarta who had arrived in Sumbawa a week ago to explore the island. In the cold morning, she had packed her swimsuit, camera, and snacks inside a dry bag. She would plunge with whale sharks that morning in the waters of Saleh Bay, Sumbawa, Indonesia, after having descended from Mount Tambora the previous day, only two hours’ drive from her accommodation.
“It’s not enough to climb Tambora, we also have to dive with whale sharks. This is an extraordinary package,” she said. A boat operator, Gunawan, was waiting for her at the dock, and they immediately set off while most of the residents of the village were still asleep.
Early in December, the sea in the bay proved calm enough to let the boat sail at a speed of some 20 knots (32 km/hour) without any major shaking. At about six in the morning, Maulin had seen several bagan, where they would stop the location and dive to meet the Shark. Bagan is a fishing tool that uses nets and lights to catch fish, squid, and shrimp.
For example, in Saleh Bay, the typical 10 square meter fishing bagan usually is made from a motorized boat and has a semi-permanent resting place used by fishermen to watch their nets all night long. Dozens of bagan are anchored in the waters of Saleh Bay; most belong to fishermen from Labuhan Jambu village.
The whale sharks are called locally as pakek torok or deaf sharks because the largest shark in the world is not aggressive and seems not to hear the roar of the bagan engine. When the sun is new is the best time to see and interact with whale sharks because at that time the bagan fishermen lift their nets that are already full of fish. At the same time, whale sharks are normally surfacing to feed on small fish (krill) that have escaped the net. They often bite the nets of the fishermen to get their food out.
As Maulin’s boat was approaching, a fisherman stood on the edge of the bagan and, after greeting Gunawan in the local language, he poured out what he had in his bucket. “This is ebi, small shrimp, that whale sharks eat, let them come,” he said. He spent that morning swimming with the whale sharks for an hour, taking a few photos that were not very focused because the animals and himself were constantly moving in the water. After eating on the bagan, he returned to the village. “It was an amazing experience,” he said briefly about his encounter with the gentle giant. His encounter with the sharks that day cost him US$140.
Whale shark ecotourism in Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara involves local and coastal communities as the main actors and the largest economic beneficiaries (Photo: CI Indonesia).
Shark Paradise
Indonesia hosts 117 species of sharks, placing the country among those with the highest level of shark biodiversity in the world. The most frequent species of sharks that can be met in Indonesia are whale sharks—Rhincodon typus—and are often named the largest fish in the world. Apart from its large size, this animal is also known for the pattern of white spots all over its body and its disposition, which is usually friendly towards humans.
The continuous population decline has warranted the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to assess the whale shark’s conservation status as endangered (Endangered/EN) in 2016. Fishing—targeted fishing, bycatch—has been noted as the main cause of depopulation in whale sharks, apart from decreasing the quality of life due to the habitat being polluted by pollution and death because of being hit by ships. Whale sharks also have slow biological reproductive traits, such as delayed maturity and low numbers of offspring produced; therefore, extractive pressure will be able to reduce the whale shark population.
Whale sharks are known to be a long-distance species, and they have a large habitat that includes almost all Indonesian waters; however, they have only been recorded in few areas in mass aggregations—these locations being Gorontalo, Cendrawasih Bay, and Saleh Bay, located in between Sumbawa and Dompu Regencies. A total of 99 whale sharks were found, thus placing Saleh Bay second after Cendrawasih Bay Marine National Park in Papua to have the most significant whale shark population in Indonesia.
Ecotourism
Conservation International (CI) Indonesia has initiated a whale shark conservation program since 2013 at Cendrawasih Bay National Park and since 2017 in Saleh Bay, Sumbawa. They conducted a fairly long study and concluded that ecotourism is a sustainable use method because it has minimal impact on individuals and whale shark populations in an area which also provides economic benefits to the community and regional development including supporting protection and preservation efforts.
The whale shark-based tourism industry has developed in at least Australia, Belize, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Honduras, Maldives, Mexico, Mozambique, Oman, Panama, Philippines, St Helena, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Tanzania and Thailand.
The global economic value of the whale shark tourism industry is estimated to generate over US$42 million annually. While the results of economic valuations differ from site to site, for example in South Ari Atoll in the Maldives, one is projected at US$9.4 million in 2013, while in Quintana Roo in Mexico it is valued at an estimated $7 million dollars derived only from payments for the tours themselves, and in Ningaloo in Western Australia, whale shark tourists spent nearly AU$6 million during 2006; as a number of major sites, the growth in the number of tour participants is like that in Mexico and Australia and The Philippines, which suggests that the industry is growing very rapidly.
The promising data on ecotourism encouraged CI Indonesia to conduct a whale shark ecotourism survey in Saleh Bay since 2017 with a focus on Labuhan Jambu Village facing the bay whose most inhabitants are fishermen. The following year, they obtained official support from the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Provincial Government to initiate whale shark tourism in involving the local villagers as the main actors.
The community began to be trained to become divers, boat operators, tour guides, while guests were directed to stay in homes of the residents that had passed the standards to become homestays. Some villagers were also trained to master various skills like carving which was able to produce statues of whale sharks and other marine animals, while the children became drama players who would stage whale shark plays in front of tourists. Cafes and restaurants were all set to welcome these visitors by preparing a Whale Shark Park.
Part of the ecotourism income is managed by a cooperative, which the community established, and the money can be returned for various needs relating to ecotourism. When this program was first started in 2018, the value of Saleh Bay whale shark tourism was zero because it had not generated a single dollar. Until then, whale sharks were still just free entertainment for the fishermen.
In 2019, CI Indonesia conducted an economic valuation study on whale shark tourism in Saleh Bay, particularly for the community of Labuhan Jambu Village. From a sample size of 108 respondents, all of them actors in ecotourism, they estimated the economic value of whale shark tourism to be US$21,800, which includes US$1400 million to conservation. The tourist expenditure has also had an economic impact in the same year on the Labuhan Jambu Village community directly of 47%, an indirect economic impact of 38%, and a subsequent economic impact of 15%. The direct economic impact is seen among others in business units’ incomes in the tourist area, and the indirect economic impact is seen in the incomes of local workers and the expenditure of business units in the tourist area, while the subsequent economic impact is seen in other economic activities by tourism service providers.
The Sumbawa Regency Youth, Sports and Tourism Office also stated on record that during the two consecutive years, there was an increase in the number of tourists visiting tourist attractions in the region to 51,574 tourists in 2020 and to 82,031 tourists in 2021; of whom 559 are foreign tourists.
A survey conducted by Samawa University in Sumbawa Besar to 70 local community respondents at the end of 2023 also showed the same thing: that there was a significant positive influence of whale shark tourism on increasing community income. The owner of the shop at the Whale Shark Park, for example, is busy with local visitors on Sundays or during holidays. This has changed the lifestyle of the surrounding community, where there is a place for recreation for families or just hanging out for young people. Support
The development of whale shark tourism in Sumbawa cannot be separated from efforts by some NGOs, academics, and local communities who work in conservation. First and foremost, it came from the Ministry of Marine Affairs when it issued the Decree of the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Number 18 of 2013 which categorized whale sharks into charismatic marine animals so that their status is protected in Indonesia. Also, the work of CI Indonesia has received international recognition because, under its management and accompanying the registration of whale shark presence by UNESCO, Saleh Bay was included in the SAMOTA biosphere reserve (Saleh Bay, Moyo Island, and Mount Tambora) in 2019. Since 2018, the Governor of NTB Province has clearly supported whale shark ecotourism and included it as one of the main destinations of the province.
In 2022, the Regent of Sumbawa supported CI Indonesia in the development of marine charismatic wildlife ecotourism as a model of the blue economy for coastal communities in Sumbawa Regency. This increases community participation in conservation and the role of conservation and marine charismatic wildlife ecotourism in regional development, along with improving the welfare of coastal communities.
The signing of the Joint Agreement with Sumbawa Regency, the Indonesian Conservation Foundation also awarded Regent Mahmud Abdullah by naming a whale shark in the name of “Haji Mo” as a form of appreciation for the Regent’s support in efforts to conserve whale sharks in Saleh Bay. Earlier, CI Indonesia had also named two whale sharks in the Cenderawasih Bay Waters, Papua, named Puji Astuti and Siti Nurbaya after the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and the Minister of Environment and Forestry. In 2018, it was the turn of a whale shark to be named Bang Zul as a token of appreciation for the support shown by the Governor of West Nusa Tenggara Zulkieflimansyah in the conservation of the animal.
Online Shark
CI Indonesia also attached tags on each dorsal fin of the whale shark they found in Saleh Bay, so that their population level, health, and movement can be easily tracked in real time throughout the world. Data from the radio tags will be transmitted to a satellite which can be viewed online via the site https://www.conservation.org/projects/whale-shark-tracker. This online information allows donors, NGOs, researchers, and even the general public to observe the movement.
Installation of radio tagging on whale shark fins by the CI Indonesia team to monitor the movement of this animal throughout the world. (Photo: CI Indonesia)
This whale shark movement information is very helpful to support conservation efforts, as the movement of whale sharks in Saleh Bay is not yet fully disclosed. Head of CI Indonesia’s Marine Program Senior Director Victor Nikijuluw said scientific data from whale shark satellite tagging could be useful as a basis for developing community-based whale shark tourism potential in Saleh Bay. It is through active community participation and with the support of both local and central governments that independent whale shark tourism management by the community is expected to realize conservation that is in line with sustainable use for community economic growth.
“The scientific data collected by CI Indonesia aims to strengthen various aspects, including the development of a code of ethics for interaction with whale sharks and references for district and provincial action plans in the protection and management of whale shark tourism,” he added, “In the future, studies on tourism carrying capacity and the development of sustainable funding mechanisms and increasing community capacity can be pursued to build sustainable ecotourism as a whole.”
Satellites beam information on the movement of each individual whale shark from Saleh Bay in Sumbawa to the entire world online. Each point is the name of a different shark (Source: Whale Shark Tracker).
When CI Indonesia changed its name to Konservasi Indonesia in 2022, the Chairperson of the Konservasi Indonesia Management Meizani Irmadhiany continued to convey their commitment to Saleh Bay. “Tourism has a high multiplier effect compared to other sectors, so it can be a driver in accelerating regional development. The sustainability of tourism activities in an area is influenced by the sustainability of its economy,” he said. Therefore, he continued, there needs to be cooperation in the development and management of sustainable resources that generate economic benefits for the community. The collaboration is expected to support the development of charismatic marine wildlife ecotourism as a blue economy model in Sumbawa Regency, he added, and will also support the mission of the Regency Government in improving the tourism sector and its sustainable management.
Among the long list of supporters of this program is the French Embassy in Indonesia, which, through a grant of 500 thousand Euros, seeks to improve management of the whale shark habitat in Saleh Bay by creating the first marine protected area (MPA) of 69,550 hectares, protecting 59% of the critical habitat of whale sharks in Saleh Bay, Sumbawa Island, which should allow the whale shark population to increase by 10% annually.
From the national business, there is paint manufacturer PT Mowilex Indonesia (Mowilex) that also provided $10,000 in 2019 through the Mowilex Sustainability Initiative program that focuses on supporting a quality ecosystem for whale sharks, such as planting mangroves along the coast of Saleh Bay and reducing water pollution. “We appreciate the efforts of preserving Saleh Bay and raising awareness among local communities on how to run environmentally friendly tourism,” said CEO of PT Mowilex Indonesia Niko Safavi.
(IGG Maha Adi)
