Growing Roots: Project Hiu
It can be hard to size people up in the conservation world these days. When I get involved I need ALL my questions answered. Are you in this for the right reasons? Where does the money go? Who are you when your Instagram followers aren’t looking? I knew in order to trust Pip’s work with Project Hiu, I would have to see it for myself. Project Hiu works with shark fisherman, children and local community members of Lombok Indonesia on Fisherman Island. Lead by Madison Stewart aka ‘pip’, she brings awareness and sustainable job opportunities focused on the beauty and intrigue of sharks living in their ocean rather than slaughtered on their docks. In just a year, Pip is developing roots among the people living on Fisherman Island. She has gained their trust by showing them how to use their boats and knowledge of the surrounding marine life to generate an income to support their families that doesn’t involve weeks are sea or the treacherous conditions that come with fishing sharks. She knows change is hard, so her approach is thoughtful and comprehensive. Her approach is respectful of the culture and shares her expertise in shark populations to help fisherman understand their livelihood is at stake. Killing sharks to satiate the wealthy appetite of shark fins has spiralled their existence to dismal numbers. Pip shows the people, the value in making a living from the sharks swimming free in their natural environment. Her approach is brilliant, she doesn’t just work with the fisherman, but with the children and women living within the community as well, giving them all an incentive to favour tourism over fishing. She broadens her reach by bringing in people from the outside, like myself, the final part of the equation – tourism. As I and ten others, embarked on a trip organized by Pip, I painted ocean themed murals with kids, visited the fishing market, surfed and snorkelled in pristine waters and made friends with local women and shark fisherman. The five days on Lombok has left me inspired, hopeful and a believer in Project Hiu. Let me take you on parts of my journey, so you too can see how Pip is making a difference among the people in Indonesia and saving our oceans.
Day One, The Mural
My alarm is set for 5am, a quick breakfast, we pile into the van, headed to the dock where the fisherman will ferry us to the local school. Our group comes from all different backgrounds, divers, computer engineers, all wanting to support conservation efforts, all wanting to support project Hiu. Amazing! We arrived at the local jetty, it was just starting to get hot. The fisherman, the *shark fisherman… were waiting there with the boats tied up. Greeting us warmly and assisting us with our gear. I sat on top of the box where they keep the sharks after they are killed, but for today and the rest of the week the box would be empty. They were working with us. The boat ride was breathtaking and beautiful, so simple, so green and scattered little islands. Prior to our arrival at the school, Francesca, an ocean conservationist and artist had outlined an ocean themed mural, primed for us to paint with the kids. Francesca believes every child has creative artistic abilities that just need fostering. The school cannot afford art supplies, so this is a big deal for the teachers, students and parents. We painted long after the school bell rang to dismiss kids. No one left, they all stayed to finish the mural and share stories with us. Pip brought donated jump ropes that the kids loved playing with when taking a break from painting. I think my favorite moment on this day was carrying a young girl, a daughter of one of the shark fishermen, on my shoulders so she could reach a higher piece of coral. When her brush ran out of paint I would kneel down, carefully, while balancing her upright, to dip the brush and hand it back up so she could continue her work. A few hours go by and the colour brings the wall to life, it wasn’t perfect it was messy, but honestly it was PERFECT because it was messy! As we were leaving the school one of the teachers went up to Francesca and said “This is something we will never forget, thank you”. So this little thing, in just one day, a day these kids would always remember and art they will always be inspired by. A perfect ending to the day, Odi, a fisherman (now friend) invites us into his home and brings up fresh lobster, fish, fried banana, fried dough, and noodles. What an experience to be invited in to his home and fed food prepared by his wife. We cannot simply come in and tell people how to live, what they are missing, and what they can and cannot do for a living, which is why Pip’s approach, to slowly work with them and ask what they need instead of telling them, was so thoughtful, and it clearly shows with her friendship to so many members of the community.
Day Two Market
Another early morning, wearing long sleeve, long baggy pants -market day attire. The community is mostly Muslim, and it is important to show respect. This market takes place every single morning. When we pulled up it was hectic. Women carrying baskets of fish on their heads, buckets upon buckets full of fish on the floor. We hadn’t even gotten to the sharks yet. I closely followed the others in our group, I knew one minute of not paying attention would have me so lost. We keep walking through till we get to the floor where the sharks are brought up and displayed. The smell is one of the worst parts, I had prepared to see the dead sharks through Pips post for a while, but the smell was unexpected. We were instructed to smile and ask questions, look happy, Pip briefs us on how to act so as we don’t draw negative attention to ourselves. Our ignorant demeanour to the dead sharks is the reason she can keep returning to this market and take images of their catch, she doesn’t want them to think we are there to make them look bad and she tells us to be cautious with how we refer to them on social media as well, insisting they are just like us, trying to feed their families. I kept my happy face on throughout the morning, it didn’t hit till later when I looked through my tiger shark footage and saw the
lifeless eyes. My favourite part, when swimming with the sharks, is watching their eye watch you. The intelligence behind it’s gaze, the curiosity, is a stark contrast to the ones I saw laying lifeless on the floor surrounded in its blood. I watched Scalloped Hammerheads being brought up, a juvenile tiger shark, full grown blues (that I have never seen in the water), and rays. The craziest part is that this is their every day life, its a normality for them. Just as working at a restaurant is normal for you. Some background information on why these sharks are being harvested at such alarming rates. Fishermen make $10 for one kilo of fins, the supplier makes $180 per kilo of fins, this one kilo is then sold to restaurants for $750! Do the fisherman understand these
numbers? They are being cheated for hard labor, weeks away from their families in harsh conditions.
Day Three Surf Snorkel and Dive We board two beautiful fishing boats, but today the boats have been chartered for surfing, snorkeling and diving. A short, scenic rich ride, we arrive at a private beach. I slip into the water with my mask and fins, one of the fishermen Sam handed my camera down to me. The water is so flat calm crisp clear I don’t know what else to say… amazing it was amazing. I swam for two hours taking photos of coral and just playing. The fisherman swam with us and rowed mini boats which were just squares that floated and a little oar to row. Pip and I took one of them to a cave across to the other side of the bay. Everyone was laughing, I really enjoyed the playfulness to the day. It was one of those moments where I looked around and thought this cant be real but here I am experiencing it. One of the fisherman took me and Francesca, all around pushing us across the water on one of the mini make-shift boats, he was excited to show us around. Another fisherman cooked up fresh tofu and rice and invited me to come eat with them on the back of the boat. A day I will never forget.
It’s a jarring contrast of life and death. How BEAUTIFUL a tiger shark
is alive, free, swimming through the water. Compared to one that has been brought up dead, deflated on the floor of a market, for sale. The stripes that once glistened lost color, the eye that once watched me so carefully had no life.
How can we exploit these highly evolved creatures? Creature so
intelligent with so much importance to the ocean. How can we put a higher value on a human life over an animal life? Why do we give more love to dolphins than to sharks? Are we really so consumed by fear and appearance? The role we play on this earth is of no greater value than that of animals. In fact, it is far more detrimental when you see the cost of our human greed. How can we call ourselves evolved when our actions seem to show we have grown into a monstrously greedy species? Don’t place blame, but look toward the consumers. Look toward yourself. What can you do? What could each of us stand up for? Even when it feels like there is no hope, remind yourself of the small actions you can take. Huge change can come from little changes made by a lot of people.
The hope I have is from being part of Project Hiu: Indonesia with Madison Stewart. This project works with shark fisherman to educate them on how to repurpose the use of their boat to bring in sustainable income through tourism rather than shark fishing.
Her project is an amazing example of the power of a lot of people collectively deciding to give small amounts towards a worthy cause.
Check her work out @sharkgirlmadison And show your support. Written by Madison Makoff