Meet The Sharks Of The Gili Islands

As you may already know the Gili Matra Marine Recreational Reserve is a critical habitat for both black tip reef sharks and white tip reef sharks. What makes this area so special is that it is a nursery area for these amazing creatures.

Consistently for many years dive professionals from all three islands have reported sightings of juvenile reef sharks and pregnant adults. Both species are near threatened which means they are likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future.

Our research team works hard year-round to collect abundant data within each zone of the marine protected area with the goal to gain better protection for all marine life and particularly our beloved shark residence.

Name your own shark!

We use photographic identification as a none invasive method of identifying our shark community in order to gain an understanding of their preferred habitats, behavioral patterns, movement and to monitor populations. Using the i3s program we can identify individuals. To learn more about how the i3s program works click here

If you have been diving in the Gili Islands and managed to get some good sharkie photos please feel free to send them to us at sharks@gilisharkconservation.com and we can identify if it is an individual that we already know or if it is a new one. If you send a picture of a new individual you don’t only contribute to critical research but you also you will get to name your very own shark.

Meet our Whitetip Reef Shark Friends