Administrator’s notes: This article originally appeared in X-Ray magazine.  It is shared with permission of the author and X-Ray magazine.

Erdmann in the field to survey Raja Ampat

Australian based underwater photographer and journalist, Don Silcock is working with X-Ray magazine to create a series of articles about Raja Ampat’s pioneers.  In this edition Don tells the story of Dr. Mark Erdmann, an American coral reef ecologist and Vice President of Asia-Pacific Marine Programs for Conservation International.  Previous articles can be found by searching in the Bird’s Head Seascape Library.

You can read the article by clicking the image below or following this link, Conservation in Raja Ampat: Mark Erdmann & a Holistic Approach by Don Silcock.

Opening spread of the X-Ray magazine article

Dr. Erdmann’a scientific surveys of Raja and the Bird’s Head Seascape were done with his partner Dr. Gerald Allen, the world’s foremost tropical marine ichthyologist.

Dr. Allen (left) with Dr. Erdmann

More recently Dr. Erdmann co-founded the ReShark Project, aimed at re-wilding Leopard/Zebra sharks back into their native waters of Raja Ampat.

A “Shark Nanny” hand feeds a Leopard shark pup prior to releasing it into its native waters of Raja Ampat.

You can download and read the original article in X-Ray magazine by clicking, Conservation in Raja Ampat: Mark Erdmann & a Holistic Approach.