What the Raja Ampat case teaches us about protecting sea turtles
This week, a video swept through the global diving community within hours.
A dive instructor trainer and freediving instructor, equipped with a speargun and scuba gear, shooting a hawksbill turtle resting on a reef in Raja Ampat — one of the most protected and biodiverse marine ecosystems on the planet. Afterwards, images of the dead animal, butchered and cooked.
The community's response was immediate and forceful.
The video was shared, documented, reported. Within hours, Indonesian authorities intercepted the individual at an airport as he attempted to leave the country, thanks to the report filed by the local indigenous community patrol together with the Raja Ampat regional government.
He currently remains in custody pending investigation in Sorong.
We are not going to dedicate this post to that person. He has already received the attention — and the consequences — his actions generated. What does deserve our full attention is the rest of it: what exactly was put at risk, why it matters so much, and what all of us should do when we witness something like this.
Because what is truly valuable about this story isn't the scandal. It's what the diving community proved it is capable of doing when it acts together — and what we should all know so that next time the response is even faster and more effective.
At Born to the Ocean we firmly believe that those of us who love the ocean, marine life, and live within the sea have an obligation to protect it and report actions like this so they don't happen again. This isn't about pointing fingers — it's about building marine awareness.
Who the hawksbill turtle is — and why this specific case is so serious
The hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is classified by the IUCN as Critically Endangered — the most severe category before extinction in the wild.
It is, along with the leatherback turtle, one of the most threatened marine species on the planet.
Its ecological role is far more important than most people realise. Its sharp, curved beak is perfectly adapted to feed on sponges that grow in the crevices of reefs — sponges that, left unchecked, can grow without limit and smother coral.
The hawksbill turtle is, literally, a gardener of the reef. Its disappearance from an ecosystem is not just the loss of an animal — it is the loss of an ecological function that sustains the health of the entire reef.
Raja Ampat is home to at least four of the world's seven sea turtle species, including the hawksbill and the green turtle, and the wider Bird's Head region of Papua is also essential for the leatherback. All six sea turtle species found in Indonesian waters are protected under the country's national legislation.
This is not a legal grey area — it is explicitly protected territory, inside one of the most important marine parks on the planet.
Raja Ampat holds, according to official Indonesian tourism estimates, around 75% of all known coral species in the world.
It is, simply put, one of the most valuable places in the entire ocean for global biodiversity.
Hunting a critically endangered species inside that zone is not just a crime — it is a direct attack on one of the last truly intact marine sanctuaries left.
What made this case different: the community acting as a system of defence
What happened this week deserves to be examined closely, because it is a model of how the response to this kind of event should work.
The chain of reaction was fast and structured.
The video leaked — apparently by mistake, carelessly posted to a much larger group than the author intended. Within hours, the Indonesian, Chinese and Spanish diving communities identified the location, verified the details and filed a formal report with the authorities. The Meos Mansar indigenous community patrol — local guardians of the marine park — gathered photographic and witness evidence and handed it to the police.
Documentation was the key.
This wasn't just outrage on social media — it was outrage backed by concrete evidence: photographs, video of the moment of the hunt, images of the dead and cooked animal, the instructor's identity and certification documents, information about where he was staying, and witness statements. That documentation is what allowed Indonesian authorities to act as quickly as they did — intercepting the suspect at the airport before he could leave the country.
Dive certification agencies have a real role to play.
When the community also reported the case to the instructor's certifying organisations, they opened their own internal processes. A dive certification is not just a card — it is a credential that represents a commitment to safety and to respecting the marine environment. When that commitment is broken this flagrantly, the certifying agency's response matters just as much as the legal one: it determines whether that person can continue working professionally anywhere in the world.
The international community mobilised without borders.
Divers from Indonesia, China, Spain, Colombia, Mexico and dozens of other countries shared, documented and applied pressure. The Chinese diving community was especially forceful in its condemnation — an important reminder that acts like this represent no nationality or culture, only the individual decision of one person.
What to do if you witness something like this — the real guide
This is the most important section of this post. Because what happened this week can happen again — at any destination, with any protected species — and the difference between it going unpunished or having real consequences lies in how those of us who witness it respond.
If you see it happening in real time
Don't confront directly if it puts you at risk.
Safety comes first. If the situation allows it without endangering yourself, document.
Document everything you safely can: photographs, video, exact location, date and time, physical description of the person and of the boat or equipment if visible. The more detailed the documentation, the more useful it will be to the authorities.
Inform your dive operator or centre immediately.
If it happens during an organised activity, the guide or centre has both the obligation and, generally, the direct contacts with local conservation authorities.
If the material reaches you afterwards — as happened this week
Verify before amplifying, but don't wait weeks to do it.
Speed mattered in this case — the swift report allowed the suspect to be intercepted before leaving the country. A basic level of verification (is there an identifiable location? does the video look edited or manipulated?) is reasonable, but it should never become an excuse for inaction.
Report it to the conservation authorities of the country where it happened, not only on social media. In Indonesia, that means the relevant marine park authority and local police. Every country has its own channels — look into them before you need them, so you don't waste time when it happens.
Also report it to the diving certification agency of the person involved, if identifiable as an industry professional. SSI, PADI, AIDA, SDI, FEMAS and other organisations have disciplinary processes and specific reporting channels for this kind of conduct.
Share with documentation, not just outrage.
A post that only generates anger fades within 48 hours. A post with evidence, context and a clear reporting channel generates sustained action — which is exactly what allowed this case to move as fast as it did.
Contact local or international conservation organisations that can apply institutional pressure — WWF, Sea Shepherd, or the specific NGOs of the region where the event took place.
Why sea turtle poaching keeps happening
It's easy to think a case like this is an isolated anomaly. It isn't.
Poaching and consumption of sea turtles persist in many regions of the world through a combination of factors: cultural traditions of consumption in some coastal communities, an international black market for hawksbill shell that continues to exist despite having been globally banned for decades, and law enforcement that varies enormously depending on the country and the resources available for marine surveillance.
What makes the Raja Ampat case especially serious is that this was not a subsistence community acting out of necessity — it was a certified professional of the diving industry, someone whose training and credentials should represent exactly the opposite: respect for and protection of the marine environment they make their living from.
That is precisely why the response from certifying agencies matters as much as the legal one. A dive instructor has access, authority and credibility with dozens or hundreds of students over the course of a career.
Revoking that credential is not just a punishment — it is active protection for the ecosystem and for the reputation of the entire profession.
What this week shows about the power of the diving community
There is something deeply hopeful in how this case unfolded, beyond the terrible act that triggered it.
Thousands of divers from dozens of countries, with no prior coordination, with no central organisation directing the response, moved in the same direction within hours: document, report, pressure the right institutions.
That doesn't happen by accident — it happens because there is a global community that shares one common value: respect for the ocean and for what lives in it.
That community is a real conservation asset, not just a symbolic one.
No marine park in the world has enough surveillance resources to cover every reef, every moment, every diver. But every diver who enters the water willing to document and act if they witness something like this becomes part of that surveillance system.
That is exactly what we want this post to reinforce. Not the scandal of one specific case — but the collective ability to turn outrage into effective action, the next time it's needed.
What you can do today, without waiting for another case
Save the marine conservation reporting contacts for your next destination now.
Don't look for them when you already need them — have them ready in advance.
Familiarise yourself with your certifying agency's reporting process.
Whether it's SSI, PADI or any other, all of them have a channel for reporting unethical conduct by certified instructors. Knowing it exists and how to use it saves critical time if you ever need it.
Support local conservation community patrols at the destinations where you dive.
In Raja Ampat, indigenous communities like the one that brought this case to the authorities have spent years actively protecting the marine park with limited resources. Many of these initiatives accept direct support or donations.
Talk about this case within your diving community.
Not to reignite the scandal, but to make it clear — in every dive centre, every diver WhatsApp group, every conversation on a boat — that this isn't tolerated and that the community responds when it happens.
The respect that makes it possible to keep diving these places
Raja Ampat, Coiba, Komodo, the Azores, Bali — every exceptional destination that still exists on the planet exists because, until now, it has been protected enough to survive human pressure.
Every critically endangered species you can still find underwater is a reminder of how fragile that balance is.
The vast majority of the diving community understands this deeply — it is, in fact, one of the reasons many of us started diving in the first place:
the chance to be close to a world that deserves to be protected.
This case, painful as it has been, has shown that this community is willing to act when that respect is broken this flagrantly.
That is the part of this story worth telling and remembering.
If you have questions about how to act in a similar situation, or want to know more about the conservation projects we work with at every BTO destination, let's talk on WhatsApp. We reply within 24 hours.
Have you ever witnessed poaching or mistreatment of protected marine wildlife while diving? How did you react? Share your experience in the comments — it might help another diver know what to do the day they need it. 👇🤿
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