Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Marine Life in Raja Ampat

Karst islets in Kabui bay
Karst in Kabui bay
Raja Ampat is a famous destination for tourists who like snorkeling or scuba diving. Its marine biodiversity is the highest in the world.
According to 2011 edition of Diving Indonesia Bird's Head Seascape written by Burt Jones and Maurine Shimlock, in Raja Ampat there were 1,427 reef-fishes, 553 hard corals, and 43 mantis shrimps. 
From my personal experience, when I swim over a number of coral reef areas, of this regency, I see a lot of species of fish and other marine creatures. For instance, in Yenbuba strait, I see turtles, sweetlips, boxfish, and black-tip sharks. In Sawondarek, I see barracuda, and batfish. In Arborek, I see trevally, and giant clams.
From my recent scuba diving excursion in Mioskon island, I saw lizardfish, humpback grouper, lionfish, sweetlips and a lot of other fish.
Marine life in mioskon island of raja ampat
Marine Life in Raja Ampat
My favorite snorkeling site is Warduwer beach located in southern region of Waigeo island.
I bring my own snorkeling mask, snorkel and fins. For taking pictures, I bring Fujifilm XQ2 with its waterproof case or Nikom AW 130. The camera is good enough for taking pictures of fish and coral reef. To take pictures underwater, I freedive to 2 - 5 meters so that I could be on the same eye level with the marine creature that I want to shoot. To stabilize my body in the water, my left hand holds a rock and my right hand takes pictures. The results are the ones that I present in this blog.
Here, I see Pink Anemonefish, Orange Skunk Anemonefish, Red and Black Anemonefish; parrotfish, catfish, scorpionfish, Tasselled Wobbegong; sea stars; Christmas Tree Worm and a lot of other marine creatures that are very beautiful and colorful. A beach resort is being constructed at the beach now. Soon, it will operate and its rooms will be available for visitors who want to spend their holiday time at this beach. The name of the beach resort is RAFLOW. It stands for Raja Ampat Flow Resort.

Turtle Conservation Works

In north-east region of Waigeo island, local villagers have been involved in turtle conservation initiatives by protecting nests or relocating eggs of leatherback, hawksbill, olive ridley. Their works are supported by local governments and NGOs, tourist guide association.
Release of olive ridley hatchlings to the sea.
Turtle Conservation Works in Waigeo island
Tasselled Wobbegong fish
Tasselled Wobbegong
Tourists who want to visit Raja Ampat can take international flights from their country to Jakarta - the capital of Indonesia. After that they need to continue their trip by taking domestic flights to Sorong city. Airlines such as Garuda, Sriwijaya, Batik, Lion Air provide regular flights to Sorong city. Arriving in Sorong, they need to continue their trips to Raja Ampat by fast passenger ferry or by speed-boats. 
Equipment
Visitors who come to Raja Ampat can enjoy swimming, snorkeling, scuba diving, hiking, and birdwatching. Most dive resorts have got all the diving gear needed by guests. If tourists choose to stay in homestays, they need to bring their own snorkeling mask, snorkel and fins.
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