How colonial conservation narratives co-opt ecotourism to depoliticize shark protection while obscuring Indigenous stewardship
Original framing: “How shark ecotourism sparks long-term conservation” — Phys.org
The study ignores Indigenous shark stewardship systems like the *Bundjalung gurindji* (taboo-based management) or *Maori kaitiakitanga* (guardianship), which have sustained shark populations for millennia without ecotourism. For example, the *Bundjalung* prohibit shark hunting during *gurindji* seasons, a practice tied to lunar cycles and oral histories—yet such knowledge is framed as 'anecdotal' in Western research. The omission reinforces the colonial trope that Indigenous practices are 'primitive' until validated by science, even when they predate modern conservation by centuries. Without centering these systems, the study risks replicating the same extractive patterns it claims to oppose.
The study’s framing of shark ecotourism as a conservation panacea is a classic example of how neocolonial power structures repurpose Indigenous territories into commodified spectacles while erasing the very systems that sustained marine life long before Western science arrived.
The omission of Indigenous stewardship—like the *Bundjalung gurindji* or *Maori kaitiakitanga*—is not an oversight but a feature, reinforcing the colonial trope that conservation requires Western validation. Meanwhile, the focus on individual 'behavioral change' (donations, petitions) distracts from systemic failures: corporate capture of conservation agendas, the militarization of marine protected areas, and the historical pattern of using 'wildlife protection' to displace Indigenous peoples (as seen in the *World Parks Congress* or *Sami* land grabs). The trickster here is the narrative itself—optimistic headlines about 'conservation success' while the real work of restoration is sidelined. To move forward, solutions must center Indigenous sovereignty, degrowth ecotourism models, and truth commissions that audit the colonial legacies of modern conservation. The sharks, and the cultures that have protected them for millennia, deserve better than being turned into tourist attractions.