Lizardfish in Coral Reef of Raja Ampat

This is the photograph of a lizardfish that I made when I was diving in Raja Ampat. Perhaps its species name is Reef Lizardfish (Synodus variegatus).

Lizardfish in Raja Ampat

I and 3 divers were at a depth of around 18 meters (59 feet) below the surface of the sea when I saw the fish. The sunlight had been much reduced at this depth. I did not activate the flash of my camera to avoid disturbing the marine life when shooting the fish. As a result the picture that I made was not colorful at all. At least I could use it for identification purposes. I used Nikon AW 130 - a compact and waterproof camera that was suitable for snorkeling, scuba diving and freediving.

There were a lot of species of fish that I saw at that time including sweetlips, groupers, blennies, wrasses, parrotfishes, anthias, and jacks. 

Coral reef is often called the tropical rainforest of the sea. It is the natural habitat of a lot of species of marine creatures from the microscopic protists, echinoderms, and molluscs to large fish and sea turtles. It is also the feeding ground of birds.

Pristine Marine Life in Raja Ampat islands

This scuba diving excursion to an uninhabited island in Raja Ampat was carried out as an additional activity of my 4 days/ 3 nights hiking, birdwatching, snorkeling and sightseeing tour with some American tourists.
There are a lot of homestays and beach resorts in Raja Ampat which visitors can choose to stay if they want to take their vacations. In addition to marine related tours, visitors can take hiking and wildlife watching trips to rainforest areas of Waigeo island where they can watch tropical birds, beetles, butterflies, and see unique plants.
Affordable ferry service are available every day between Sorong city and Waisai - the capital of the regency. To go to Raja Ampat, visitors need to take international flight from their country to Jakarta - the capital of Indonesia and then continue their trip to Sorong by such domestic airlines as Garuda, Sriwijaya, Lion, Batik, and Nam Air. 

In recent years, our understanding about coral reef is getting better. Unfortunately, this has not significantly improved our behaviour in protecting this very rich but fragile environment. We still see tons of plastic wastes drifting from big cities to coral reef areas and our efforts in stopping the use of plastics have not been successful at all. by Charles Roring

Also read:

• Humpback Grouper
• Butterflyfish and Angelfish
• Abundantfish in Coral Reef
• Reef Fish Art
• Surgeonfish in Coral Reef
• Moorish Idol