Administrator’s Note:  This is the second article in a series by Don Silcock (Indo-Pacific Images) exploring how a successful conservation strategy was developed and implemented in Raja Ampat, on the northwestern tip of Indonesia’s remote West Papua province.  It originally appeared in issue #134 (2025) of the on-line X-Ray Magazine.  The first article, in issue #132, focused on Mark Erdmann**, Vice President of Asia Pacific Marine Programs for Conservation International (CI) and architect of the innovative, broad-based, bottom-up strategy that underpins conservation efforts in the region.

Dr. Gerald R. Allen is a renowned Australian ichthyologist celebrated for his extensive contributions to the study of coral reef fishes. He is perhaps best known as the co-author, alongside Mark Erdmann, of the recently updated three-volume series Reef Fishes of the East Indies, often referred to as the “fish bible” of the Indo-Pacific region.

Dr. Allen (left) w/ Dr. Erdmann working to preserve recently collected fish specimens

The complete X-Ray article is available here, Conservation in Raja Ampat, Part 2:

*Don Silcock is a free-lance Australian underwater photographer, photojournalist and SEACAM Ambassador based in Bali, Indonesia.
**Formerly Vice President of Asia-Pacific Marine Programs at Conservation International, Dr. Erdmann is now the Executive Director of ReShark and Shark Conservation Director at Re:wild.