Hampir setiap hari ratusan ekor ikan hiu dan pari diburu. Daging dan siripnya diperdagangkan demi memenuhi kebutuhan ekonomi. FAO menyebut Indonesia termasuk salah satu negara yang terlibat dalam perdagangan global hiu dan pari di dunia.
Arief is a reporter for the Pontianak Post, a local media in West Kalimantan. Since becoming a reporter in 2008, he has been writing about environmental, social, and cultural issues. Arief is also the SIEJ Coordinator for West Kalimantan area and the administrator of AJI Pontianak. Arief has also received a number of scholarships and grants, including, Build Back Better “Karhutla and Law Enforcement” in 2021, Pulitzer Center through the Rainforest Journalism Fund Southeast Asia program in 2020, “Personal Data Protection” scholarship from AJI and the Partnership in 2020, the “Data-Based Investigation Journalism” scholarship from AJI and USAID in 2019, and several others. He has also won several article and photography competitions, both at local and national levels.