Pakek Torok: how Labuhan Jambu's view of the whale shark changed

By Saleh Bay Whale Shark Editorial Desk

Pakek Torok is the name people in Labuan Jambu use for the whale shark, and it means deaf shark. Konservasi Indonesia says the name comes from sharks that got caught in nets and were hard to steer out, while Ocean Earth Travels, an operator, says the sharks simply ignored attempts to scare them.

What does the local name mean?

The translation is agreed. The origin is not. Konservasi Indonesia ties it to fishing: sharks often got caught in nets and were hard to steer out. Ocean Earth Travels gives a slightly different account, in which the sharks ignored efforts to frighten them off. Both describe the same impression of a very large animal that would not react to people. That is about as far as the sources go. Neither gives a date for the name, nor does anyone cite a written record of its first use, so treat both as local explanations passed along rather than as settled history.

Bagans, the lift-net fishing platforms where most visitors now meet the sharks, came from elsewhere. The paper in Diversity says they originated in Sulawesi, and Wikipedia says Makassarese and Bugis people introduced them in the 1950s. Neither says when they reached Saleh Bay, so the name could predate them or follow them.

How did people once treat whale sharks?

Village memories point two ways. Residents told Konservasi Indonesia of fins being cut, and of sharks being speared or tied, in decades past.

Yet people also read the sharks as good news. One resident recalled first seeing a whale shark near shore in 1991, when they were taken as a sign of plenty. Fishers in a 2021 study reported sharks in the area from a year later, so the first-sighting year differs by a year depending on whom you read. Fishers quoted by Mongabay today treat them as a good omen that small fish are close. An animal that tangles your net and also tells you where the fish are could easily draw both reactions.

The IUCN shark specialist group factsheet adds a scientific point here. It cites local ecological knowledge that the sharks fed in the area long before the bagan fishery, as our bagan page sets out, and reads that as support for a natural origin of the feeding. That says something about the past. It is not evidence that no baiting happens today.

What changed after 2017?

The turning points are easier to date than the attitudes. Konservasi Indonesia, then Conservation International Indonesia, arrived in Labuan Jambu in 2017. According to Kompas, whale shark tourism opened the following year, at the time of the Sail Moyo Tambora event. Fishers became part of the science, as researchers trained crews in identification and photo-documentation and took their reports by WhatsApp. Those are the reports behind the records described on our Saleh Bay baby whale sharks page.

The timeline includes the May 2022 agreement reported by Tempo, a deal to develop whale shark ecotourism. It also shows how quickly this happened. A place where residents remember seeing fins cut now has a provincial decree for a youth group.

Who is KAWAN Teluk Saleh?

It is a youth community in Labuan Jambu that a West Nusa Tenggara fisheries agency confirmed by decree on 7 January 2025, according to Konservasi Indonesia. The decree date is the firmest detail in the public record. Ask locally about its membership, its current activities and any part in tour operations. Anyone who wants to work with or support the group should approach it directly. Do not read it as an endorsement if a seller mentions the name.

What does the education centre offer?

The whale shark education centre, Pusat Edukasi Hiu Paus, is in Taman Pantai Panjang Hiu Paus in Tarano. Konservasi Indonesia reports virtual reality, animations and a reading corner, and it says more than a thousand people had visited by mid 2025. Check opening hours and entry charges locally when you arrive rather than building a day around it. Boat trips are morning affairs, so it is the sort of stop that could fill a spare afternoon in the area. Our Labuhan Jambu page describes the village more widely.

Who benefits from the change today?

The record is mixed. A study backed by Sumbawa Regency, run from March to June 2026, credits tourism with improving local welfare and says the benefits need spreading more widely among local people. Regency backing is worth noting when you read that result. Keep both points in mind when you decide how to travel.

The money trail depends in part on how you arrive. A village head quoted by Kompas says residents supply boats and have begun building lodgings, and that the village is developing small islands for tourism. The Langkah Travel, an operator, says conservation and entrance fees go to the village fund and a village enterprise. West Nusa Tenggara's tourism head told Suara NTB in January 2025 that visiting boats often call without guests sleeping ashore, so little income stays. If that matters to you, ask a seller three things: who owns the boat, whether the guide is from Labuan Jambu, and where you would sleep. None of these guarantees a fair share, but the answers are specific enough to compare. An official quoted by Antara put the number of tour operators working the bay at 16 in early 2025, and said they need to explain ethics and the conservation area. Our Saleh Bay whale shark overview sets that trade in context.

What do readers ask about Pakek Torok and the village?

What does Pakek Torok mean?

It means deaf shark. Konservasi Indonesia links the name to sharks caught in nets and hard to steer out, and Ocean Earth Travels says sharks ignored people trying to scare them.

How did fishermen see whale sharks in the past?

In more than one way. Residents recall fins being cut and sharks speared or tied up, yet sharks were also read as a sign of plenty, and some fishers still call them a good omen.

What is KAWAN Teluk Saleh?

A youth community in Labuan Jambu, confirmed by a decree of the provincial fisheries agency on 7 January 2025. Ask locally about its current work.

Is there a whale shark education centre?

Yes. Konservasi Indonesia describes the Pusat Edukasi Hiu Paus in Tarano, with virtual reality, animations and a reading corner. Check opening hours locally.

Which sources support this page?

• Konservasi Indonesia: protecting the deaf shark
• Ocean Earth Travels, operator: Saleh Bay whale shark guide
• Diversity (MDPI): neonatal whale sharks recorded in Saleh Bay
• Wikipedia: Bagan (fishing)
• 2021 study of whale sharks around Saleh Bay bagans (IOP Conference Series)
• Mongabay: 10-year satellite study and the new protected area
• IUCN shark specialist group: Saleh Bay Important Shark and Ray Area factsheet
• Kompas: whale shark tourism in Saleh Bay, Sumbawa
• Tempo: Sumbawa to develop whale shark ecotourism in Saleh Bay
• Konservasi Indonesia: Saleh Bay youth and the whale shark
• Konservasi Indonesia: at the whale shark education centre
• Liputan Sumbawa: study on tourism welfare and governance
• Suara NTB: lodging shortage at Labuan Jambu (January 2025)
• Antara: keeping whale sharks and people in balance in Saleh Bay
• The Langkah Travel (operator): Saleh Bay whale sharks

How do I reach the desk?

The desk handles trip requests rather than community or research enquiries. If you want a visit that starts in the village and includes time ashore, say so when you write, and it will reply with what it can source, with terms set out only in a written offer. Requests can end in a paid booking, which gives us a commercial interest, as the about page says.

• WhatsApp: 6281139414563
• Email: bd@juaraholding.com