A WORLD-CLASS DESTINATION' TO RIVAL THE GALAPAGOS
The Globe and Mail - September 27, 2008Darryl Leniuk
Special to The Globe and Mail
The light at the end of the tunnel draws me downward. I exit the undersea cave 30 metres below the surface to find a reef teeming with tropical fish and soft coral. But it's not the coral that catches my eye; it's the divers with expensive cameras pressed against fan corals two metres across. They hover motionless, strobes flashing.
Nyoman, the divemaster of my group, beckons and points to a branch on the fan. I press my mask in close, and finally I spot the attraction: A pygmy seahorse, the world's smallest type, is dwarfed by Nyoman's fingernail. With the same knobby pink texture as the coral, it camouflages so perfectly I have trouble focusing my eyes on it, though it's only centimetres from my nose. It sways in the current, its tiny tail coiled around the fan, its miniature mouth gulping invisible plankton.
It's a small miracle of nature and one of the many wonders here at Farundi Island in the Raja Ampat archipelago - a remote group of islands in the easternmost part of Indonesia that has recently been protected as a marine park. All these divers and I are here for the same reason: to explore some of the world's best reefs, which are facing threats and are also drawing the attention of conservationists.
Scientists say Raja Ampat is a species factory. Situated at the heart of the Coral Triangle, the species-rich confluence of the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, the area has the highest marine biodiversity on Earth: 1,186 species of fish, 600 species of mollusks and about 550 species of hard coral - 75 per cent of the world's total. It's believed Raja Ampat may actually propagate species for the surrounding areas. In 2006, a new species of shark that walks on its pectoral fins was discovered here, making headlines around the world.
Which is why the park, granted official status in August of last year, is drawing new visitors. From Canada's West Coast, I spent three days getting to Raja Ampat. I was booked onto an 11-day trip on Kararu Voyage's MV Cheng Ho, a 49-metre powered sailing ship that departed from Sorong on the island of New Guinea. Of the 11 guests on board, three were professional photographers and all serious divers.
Yet like most of nature's beautiful places, Raja Ampat's reefs are highly threatened. Indonesia's growing population of 235 million depends heavily on the sea. Destructive fishing practices such as dynamite fishing and shark finning are rampant, and mining companies are seeking to excavate Raja Ampat for nickel, which would destroy reefs and generate pollution. Without protection, the reefs will be gone faster than a rain forest can be clear-cut.
Using divers to fund that protection, two American non-governmental organizations - the San-Francisco based Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) and Virginia-based Conservation International (CI) - have set up a user-fee system that has worked successfully for marine parks around the world. A $55 (U.S.) fee, collected from the approximately 2,000 divers that visit Raja Ampat each year, is split between managing the park and projects that directly benefit the 89 villages in the park.
"Raja Ampat is a world-class destination on the scale of the Galapagos," says Rick MacPherson, CORAL's program director. "Divers were coming from around the world, but no one was compensating the locals for their reefs.
"We talked to the elders in the community about conservation and explained how dynamite fishing was destructive. They can make immediate money from slash-and-burn type practices or invest in ... a marine park, which will bring in revenue for years to come."
The Bupati, or village council, quickly signed on.
An advantage of marine parks is that they tend to act like nurseries, increasing fish populations outside their boundaries and boosting local fisheries, so villages benefit from better fishing and divers enjoy healthier reefs.
But because of the area's low population density, the reefs and fish populations are still in very good shape, says Mark Erdmann, a marine biologist who heads up the project for CI. "The biggest threat right now comes from mining interests," he says. "This ... is an uphill battle for us, though I'm pleased to say that the majority of the traditional leaders in Raja Ampat are very aware of the long-term degradation that will result from mining and are against these plans."
Although I saw few sharks or larger fish, the reefs in Raja Ampat were in very good condition compared with other places I've dived. During the 11-day trip, I made three or four dives each day. Between dives, the group toured secluded inlets, uninhabited limestone islands, and one day a deep, humid bat cave.
Sailing on the Cheng Ho was a comfortable way to explore the area. Owned by Vancouver expatriate Lisa Crosby and her German husband, it resembles the wooden tall ships that plied these waters centuries ago in the spice trade. At the end of each day, I would climb up into the crow's nest with a Bintang beer to relax with a book and my iPod. In the evenings, guests took turns doing slideshows on the large flat-screen TV in the salon.
The range of habitats in Raja Ampat is stunning. At Malangari Island, in the southern end of the park, I spent hours drifting through narrow channels of mangroves where coral grew below in clear, waist-deep water. Small gorgonian fans, yellow feather stars and soft coral clung to the mangrove roots, which sheltered schools of juvenile fish. Sunlight shimmered through the canopy and waxy green leaves dipped into the water. It felt like diving in a flooded rain forest.
On the final day of the trip, we reached the port of Ambon, in the Moluccas Islands, where we would leave the boat and fly back to Bali. Our dive site was a rubble slope known as a "muck dive." Here lurked weird and wonderful creatures never seen on coral reefs. In January, a new species of frogfish was discovered here. Unlike other frogfish, this tan-and-peach striped fish is missing the typical "lure" on its forehead used to attract prey; it may represent an entirely new family of fish.
Swimming along the slope, I search intently for it. Instead, I find a flying gurnard, a hand-sized fish with pectoral fins that resemble the wings of a small hang glider, swooping over the rubble. A pair of tie-dyed mandarinfish swim loops around a discarded boot.
Then Nyoman points out a melon-sized frogfish on a dead log. Its colour and texture match the decaying wood it rests on. It's a bizarre fish: a giant tadpole with tiny hand-like pectoral fins and a gaping mouth it uses to inhale its prey. It's not the frogfish I'm looking for, but it'll do.
Pack your bags
GETTING THERE
Several major airlines fly to Bali via Hong Kong. From there, Lion Air (http://www.lionair.co.id) runs flights from Bali to Sorong via Manado.
WHEN TO GO
Diving in Raja Ampat is possible year-round.
DIVE OPERATORS
KARARU DIVE VOYAGES 62 361 282 931; http://www.kararu.com. An 11-day trip aboard the Cheng Ho is $3,975 (U.S.), including all fees, meals and guided dives. PAPUA DIVING 62 411 402 660; http://www.papua-diving.com. Based on Kri Island in Raja Ampat, this resort offers seven-day packages including meals for $1,450 (U.S.)
MORE INFORMATION
Source: The Globe and Mail - www.theglobeandmail.com