Mark Erdmann: A life or reef conservation
Renowned conservationist discusses his career, inspirations, and motivations for restoring the ocean
by Leah Downing | Nov. 20, 2024
Mark Erdmann refers to himself as a coral reef conservationist. Publishing 261 scientific articles, six books, and almost 14,000 logged dives, Erdmann is world-renowned for his work as a marine biologist, coral reef ecologist, ichthyologist, or as he calls it, coral reef conservationist.
Erdmann currently works as Vice President of Conservation International’s Asia-Pacific marine programs. After receiving his Ph.D. at University of California, Berkeley, he lived and worked in Indonesia for 23 years before moving to New Zealand, where he is currently settled.
I had the opportunity to sit down for an interview with Erdmann over Zoom during his week-long conference in Bali. Erdmann seemed accustomed to the early-wake up call in his time zone — possibly from years of early-morning dives and research in the field. His blue t-shirt and threaded necklace was reminiscent of someone fresh off the beach. Erdmann is clearly the rare kind of person who is doing exactly what he was put on this Earth to do, with 35 jam-packed years of experience in his field. It was his youthful days near the water that inspired his career.
Career Beginnings
Erdmann’s interest in fish began early. He roamed the coasts of his home state, South Carolina, in addition to spending summers on the Gulf of Mexico.
He eventually earned a Ph.D. in coral reef ecology with a focus on stomatopods (mantis shrimp)— his adviser’s subject of study. Erdmann studied stomatopods for the next 14 years.
His first trip with Conservation International (CI) took him to Sumatra, Indonesia, where he conducted a post-tsunami assessment of the local reefs. Erdmann met Dr. Gerry Allen on this trip, who, according to Erdmann, is “probably the most famous reef fish biologist on Earth.”
“Gerry, basically, during that trip, transformed me,” Erdmann said. “I was focused on the mantis shrimp during those dives, but he basically, very quickly, co-opted me and made me his intern, so to speak. From early 2005 onwards, I very quickly switched from mantis shrimp over to reef fish and became Gerry’s understudy.”
Erdmann and Allen continue to work closely today, spending August and early September working together in Papua New Guinea.
Fish Discoveries
Erdmann and Allen have seen more fish species first hand than most in the world. Erdmann has described 215 new species of fish and mantis shrimp in his years of work, which entails a long and detailed process with each new discovery. Erdmann is exceptionally skilled at identifying new species of fishes on his many dives. This comes naturally for him, with the help of a photographic memory. He also uses underwater photography to help identify smaller fish, some only an inch long, that aren’t easily spotted.
Erdmann works with everything from the smallest dwarf gobies to the largest whale sharks, and everything in between. His favorite fish, he tells me after some minutes of thought, is “probably manta rays.”
Luckily for Erdmann, he has the opportunity to work on many different species, especially as a supervisor to numerous graduate, masters, and doctoral students.
“One month, I might be doing a marine biodiversity survey for a particular area,” Erdmann explained. “A week later, I might be with one of my graduate students satellite tagging manta rays here, and a week later I might be somewhere doing something with whale sharks. I won’t complain, it’s all fun. Lots of time in the water, lots of time with cool animals.”
ReShark
When I interviewed Erdmann, he was between trips to the island chain Raja Ampat in Indonesia, where he is helping to reintroduce Indo-Pacific leopard sharks into marine protected areas through ReShark, a coalition he helped create.
Erdmann had been working in Raja Ampat since 2002, building up the marine conservation initiative in the area through CI. He and his team helped to establish a network of nine marine protected areas off the island's chain.
Reef sharks, manta rays, and multiple other fish species began their recovery in these areas, though some need extra help. One of these species is the Indo-Pacific leopard shark, with an estimated 20 adults remaining in the wild.
Erdmann’s interest in these sharks began after seeing Singapore Aquarium’s overload of leopard shark pups. The discovery of their ability to breed in public aquariums inspired the foundational ideas of ReShark’s Stegostoma tigrinum Augmentation and Recovery (StAR) project.
Erdmann worked with leopard shark world expert Dr. Christine Dudgeon to develop the idea of shipping and releasing eggs in Raja Ampat. He brought these ideas in 2018 to Dr. Erin Meyer (Seattle Aquarium) and Dr. Alistair Dove (Georgia Aquarium). Many Zoom calls and some years later, ReShark has entered its fifth year of operation, and it has released 22 leopard shark pups into Raja Ampat. In 2025, the organization plans to release over 50 animals a year.
“We have a bunch of eggs in the hatcheries right now,” Erdmann said. “They’re popping like popcorn every day.”
Erdmann spends majority of his time on ReShark as part of the StAR project’s steering committee, advisor to the expanded StAR Thailand project, and one of six members on the ReShark Council. His last six weeks have been concentrated on ReShark in Raja Ampat, working the nurseries and releasing their animals.
“We’re going to be expanding to new species and new geographies,” Erdmann said. “It’s probably the part of my work which gives me the most excitement and joy right now.”
Conservation and Ocean Optimism
Erdmann highlighted his work as a conservationist. For him, it’s about managing human behavior.
“Unfortunately, some conservationists think it’s enough to just go out there and reintroduce sharks or do whatever you’re doing,” Erdmann said. “But if you’re not actively engaging the humans around, ranging from the local communities all the way up to big players in the industry, if they’re not being influenced and changed, then in the long term, I feel like almost anything that you do is a waste.”
Erdmann continued: “In conservation to me, science is important, but the outreach, the engagement, the journalism, all of this is exceptionally important. Without it, you don’t really do conservation.”
Erdmann tells me he was inspired as a young man by famous ocean explorer and popular media figure Jacques Cousteau. Recently, Erdmann led IMAX film crews around the Raja Ampat waters to film the ReShark program and surrounding reefs. Many film crews are featuring ReShark in upcoming documentaries.
Erdmann is exceptionally proud of the marine conservation work in Raja Ampat.
“I hope that with [my work] people will remain ocean optimists,” Erdmann said. “The ocean is not dead and gone and a lost cause. It is certainly under threat, and it is dying, but the ocean is incredibly resilient, and if we give it just a little bit of respect and remove some of the stressors that we keep putting on it, it will come back.”
Raja Ampat is a special section of the planet where things are improving; Manta ray populations are going up by 10% each year, the reefs are improving, and conservation continues to expand in the region. Scientists like Erdmann are creating real change in the threatened oceans, one fish at a time.
Renowned conservationist discusses his career, inspirations, and motivations for restoring the ocean
by Leah Downing | Nov. 20, 2024
Mark Erdmann refers to himself as a coral reef conservationist. Publishing 261 scientific articles, six books, and almost 14,000 logged dives, Erdmann is world-renowned for his work as a marine biologist, coral reef ecologist, ichthyologist, or as he calls it, coral reef conservationist.
Erdmann currently works as Vice President of Conservation International’s Asia-Pacific marine programs. After receiving his Ph.D. at University of California, Berkeley, he lived and worked in Indonesia for 23 years before moving to New Zealand, where he is currently settled.
I had the opportunity to sit down for an interview with Erdmann over Zoom during his week-long conference in Bali. Erdmann seemed accustomed to the early-wake up call in his time zone — possibly from years of early-morning dives and research in the field. His blue t-shirt and threaded necklace was reminiscent of someone fresh off the beach. Erdmann is clearly the rare kind of person who is doing exactly what he was put on this Earth to do, with 35 jam-packed years of experience in his field. It was his youthful days near the water that inspired his career.
Career Beginnings
Erdmann’s interest in fish began early. He roamed the coasts of his home state, South Carolina, in addition to spending summers on the Gulf of Mexico.
He eventually earned a Ph.D. in coral reef ecology with a focus on stomatopods (mantis shrimp)— his adviser’s subject of study. Erdmann studied stomatopods for the next 14 years.
His first trip with Conservation International (CI) took him to Sumatra, Indonesia, where he conducted a post-tsunami assessment of the local reefs. Erdmann met Dr. Gerry Allen on this trip, who, according to Erdmann, is “probably the most famous reef fish biologist on Earth.”
“Gerry, basically, during that trip, transformed me,” Erdmann said. “I was focused on the mantis shrimp during those dives, but he basically, very quickly, co-opted me and made me his intern, so to speak. From early 2005 onwards, I very quickly switched from mantis shrimp over to reef fish and became Gerry’s understudy.”
Erdmann and Allen continue to work closely today, spending August and early September working together in Papua New Guinea.
Fish Discoveries
Erdmann and Allen have seen more fish species first hand than most in the world. Erdmann has described 215 new species of fish and mantis shrimp in his years of work, which entails a long and detailed process with each new discovery. Erdmann is exceptionally skilled at identifying new species of fishes on his many dives. This comes naturally for him, with the help of a photographic memory. He also uses underwater photography to help identify smaller fish, some only an inch long, that aren’t easily spotted.
Erdmann works with everything from the smallest dwarf gobies to the largest whale sharks, and everything in between. His favorite fish, he tells me after some minutes of thought, is “probably manta rays.”
Luckily for Erdmann, he has the opportunity to work on many different species, especially as a supervisor to numerous graduate, masters, and doctoral students.
“One month, I might be doing a marine biodiversity survey for a particular area,” Erdmann explained. “A week later, I might be with one of my graduate students satellite tagging manta rays here, and a week later I might be somewhere doing something with whale sharks. I won’t complain, it’s all fun. Lots of time in the water, lots of time with cool animals.”
ReShark
When I interviewed Erdmann, he was between trips to the island chain Raja Ampat in Indonesia, where he is helping to reintroduce Indo-Pacific leopard sharks into marine protected areas through ReShark, a coalition he helped create.
Erdmann had been working in Raja Ampat since 2002, building up the marine conservation initiative in the area through CI. He and his team helped to establish a network of nine marine protected areas off the island's chain.
Reef sharks, manta rays, and multiple other fish species began their recovery in these areas, though some need extra help. One of these species is the Indo-Pacific leopard shark, with an estimated 20 adults remaining in the wild.
Erdmann’s interest in these sharks began after seeing Singapore Aquarium’s overload of leopard shark pups. The discovery of their ability to breed in public aquariums inspired the foundational ideas of ReShark’s Stegostoma tigrinum Augmentation and Recovery (StAR) project.
Erdmann worked with leopard shark world expert Dr. Christine Dudgeon to develop the idea of shipping and releasing eggs in Raja Ampat. He brought these ideas in 2018 to Dr. Erin Meyer (Seattle Aquarium) and Dr. Alistair Dove (Georgia Aquarium). Many Zoom calls and some years later, ReShark has entered its fifth year of operation, and it has released 22 leopard shark pups into Raja Ampat. In 2025, the organization plans to release over 50 animals a year.
“We have a bunch of eggs in the hatcheries right now,” Erdmann said. “They’re popping like popcorn every day.”
Erdmann spends majority of his time on ReShark as part of the StAR project’s steering committee, advisor to the expanded StAR Thailand project, and one of six members on the ReShark Council. His last six weeks have been concentrated on ReShark in Raja Ampat, working the nurseries and releasing their animals.
“We’re going to be expanding to new species and new geographies,” Erdmann said. “It’s probably the part of my work which gives me the most excitement and joy right now.”
Conservation and Ocean Optimism
Erdmann highlighted his work as a conservationist. For him, it’s about managing human behavior.
“Unfortunately, some conservationists think it’s enough to just go out there and reintroduce sharks or do whatever you’re doing,” Erdmann said. “But if you’re not actively engaging the humans around, ranging from the local communities all the way up to big players in the industry, if they’re not being influenced and changed, then in the long term, I feel like almost anything that you do is a waste.”
Erdmann continued: “In conservation to me, science is important, but the outreach, the engagement, the journalism, all of this is exceptionally important. Without it, you don’t really do conservation.”
Erdmann tells me he was inspired as a young man by famous ocean explorer and popular media figure Jacques Cousteau. Recently, Erdmann led IMAX film crews around the Raja Ampat waters to film the ReShark program and surrounding reefs. Many film crews are featuring ReShark in upcoming documentaries.
Erdmann is exceptionally proud of the marine conservation work in Raja Ampat.
“I hope that with [my work] people will remain ocean optimists,” Erdmann said. “The ocean is not dead and gone and a lost cause. It is certainly under threat, and it is dying, but the ocean is incredibly resilient, and if we give it just a little bit of respect and remove some of the stressors that we keep putting on it, it will come back.”
Raja Ampat is a special section of the planet where things are improving; Manta ray populations are going up by 10% each year, the reefs are improving, and conservation continues to expand in the region. Scientists like Erdmann are creating real change in the threatened oceans, one fish at a time.
