Dr Siry further said that the renewal of the CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action sets regional actions towards addressing threats to threatened species such as sea turtles, marine mammals, sharks and rays in selected seascapes.
On the other hand, Andi Rusandi, Director of Conservation and Marine Biodeviersity of Indonesia’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) who represented the Director General of MMAF said that Gorontalo, the site of the meeting, is among the unique places in the Coral Triangle region that have rich biodiversity and is home to diverse marine creatures – marine mammals, sharks and rays. He also noted that out of 195 MPAs in Indonesia, 12 MPAs are located in Gorontalo, one of which is the Botubarani which is popular for whale sharks ecotourism.
“The local government of Gorontalo and Bone Bolango Regency have been working together to manage whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) in Botubarani village. The ministry of marine affairs and fisheries acknowledge these efforts and we do expect that this sound collaboration can be well maintained in the future. We also kindly ask the local government to sustain the implementation of standard operating procedures (SOP) in whale sharks tourism,” Rusandi said.
He added that carrying capacity, monitoring and research are the top priorities. Further, he noted the importance of participation from multistakeholders/other government sectors in conservation management to better manage this ecotourism.
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