Seven zebra shark eggs from a Washington state zoo are headed for the wild.

Officials say the effort "represents a significant step forward in a global effort to save an endangered species and restore ocean ecosystems."

The eggs are from female Peanut and male Butter at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington. Zebra sharks are considered an endangered species.

It's part of a global coalition, called ReShark, of more than 100 aquariums and other groups working to breed sharks and return their eggs to native waters to build wild populations.

So far, dozens of sharks have released in the project, called the StAR project.

Officials say the eggs underwent ultrasounds and egg candling to confirm viability.

They were then transferred to the Seattle Aquarium Thursday and eventually will go onto Raja Ampat, Indonesia, one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems on the planet.

Their goal is not to have the sharks conditioned to human interaction, as they will eventually be released into a marine sanctuary, where they’ll live freely. They will be tagged and tracked to study their survival and behavior in the wild.

Officials say zebra sharks help maintain healthy coral reef ecosystems but have vanished from much of their range due to overfishing and habitat loss.

In the wild, zebra sharks lay the eggs on the sea floor and they hatch in about 6 1/2 months.