Two spotted leopard shark pups photographed from above in a tank of clear, shallow water. Small dark snails are scattered across the floor of the tank.

Two leopard shark pups snack on snails at the nursery in Raja Ampat, Indonesia in December 2025.

Claire Harbage/NPR

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Leopard sharks have nearly vanished from the waters in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. The country is one of the largest shark fishing nations in the world. Now, a first-of-its-kind conservation project is working to bring Indo-Pacific leopard sharks back from the brink of extinction. This international project hatches their eggs and raises shark pups to rewild them into the ocean where they once thrived. Will it be enough?

For answers, we talk to freelance journalist Katerina Barton. She takes us behind-the-scenes to a shark nursery and shares what this conservation project could mean for other shark species.

Interested in more conservation news?  Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.

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This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson and Hannah Chinn. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. The audio engineer was Jimmy Keeley.