Raja
Ampat
The
biggest marine life and underwater species in the world.
Raja Ampat archipelago located off the northwest tip of
Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea. Raja Ampat archipelago
encompasses nearly ten million acres of land and sea off the northwestern
tip of Indonesia’s West Papua Province. Raja Ampat consists
of the four large islands of Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati, and Misool,
plus hundreds of smaller islands. Located in the Coral Triangle, the
heart of the world’s coral reef biodiversity, the seas around
Raja Ampat possibly hold the richest variety of species in the world.
Raja Ampat offers you another cutting edge experiences except the
under water habitat, the above water view, beautiful sunset.
Healthy with unusual reef structure dive spot with the most diverse
marine is the best way to express the beauty of Raja Ampat. Raja
Ampat is have inhibited the growth of tourism. This area's staggering
abundance of marine life is due in part to its incredibly low human
population density. The islands are primarily karst limestone, which
are dry, inhospitable, and overwhelmingly vertical. The few resident
Papuans are mainly a subsistence society, exploiting a variety of
resources to meet their basic needs. Fishing is only one of these
resources, and they continue to employ traditional, low-impact fishing
techniques, using a hook and line from dug-out canoes.
Diving in Raja Ampat is characterized by outstanding scenery, both
above and below the waterline. Much of the diving is on coral reefs
beneath small mushroom shaped rock islands, topped with green vegetation
and rising from the blue ocean. Beneath the water’s surface,
the reefs are covered with lush soft corals, sea fans and sponges
in every possible color, which are swarmed by thousands of small
orange and purple anthias (a kind of fish). Large fields of pristine
hard corals cover the top of the reef and large table corals compete
with the soft corals and sea fans for space on the reef walls. Most
of the reefs are surrounded by clouds of baitfish and fusiliers
(also a kind of fish) so thick they can block the sum. Large fish
such as groupers, tuna and mackerel, attracted by the schooling
baitfish, are present on many of the reefs, as are all of the normal
smaller reef dwellers.
At Kabui Passage, between Waigeo and Gam Islands, a narrow passage,
only the distance of a short Peyton Manning touchdown pass, separates
the two islands. There is often a swift flow of water in the channel
and the key to the dive is staying close to the edge of the channel,
where there are many large rocks and small bays in which shelter
from the current can be found.
The variety of marine life can be staggering. Some areas boast enormous
schools of fish and regular sightings of sharks, such as wobbegongs.
In Mansuar, it's highly likely you'll encounter large groups of
manta rays and turtles. From the boat and often close to shore you
may get the chance to don your snorkelling gear for some unforgettable
interaction with resident pods of dolphins or even some passing
whales.
Here you'll witness other unique species such us pigmy seahorse,
webbegong, manta ray and endemic fish called eviota raja (king eviota).
One of the best spot is Chicken Reef; you'll surrounded by thousand
of fish, bamboo shark and snappers. There just too many species
to be named in Raja Ampat, just come and experience all the glories
of Raja Ampat.
One of the most breathtaking diving experiences is the encounter
with school of barracuda (an expert assistance will be needed in
certain diving spot), reef shark, and tortoise shell. In certain
dive spot like Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo you could find Dugong
or mermaid.
The area’s massive coral colonies show that its reefs are
resistant to threats like coral bleaching and disease —threats
that now jeopardize the survival of corals around the world. In
addition, Raja Ampat’s strong ocean currents sweep coral larvae
across the Indian and Pacific Oceans to replenish other reef ecosystems.
Raja Ampat’s coral diversity, resilience to threats, and ability
to replenish reefs make it a global priority for marine protection.
Sea conditions around Raja Ampat have remained relatively stable
for millions of years, this, combined with a great diversity of
habitats, has enabled a huge biodiversity to develop. Located at
the crossroads of two major continents (Asia and Australia) with
a complex set of islands around the whole of the Birds Head Seascape,
conditions have been ideal for speciation to occur. Ie the evolution
of new species. Hence the comment – “Raja Ampat is one
giant species factory”.
Raja Ampat are Isolated populations, low human population, and a
system of reef ownership with local management have kept the reefs
around Raja Ampat in excellent condition. Huge corals demonstrate
that Raja Ampat also has resilient reefs that are resistant to threats
like diseases and bleaching. These are issues that now threaten
coral reefs around the world. Powerful ocean currents carry larvae
from the huge diversity of marine life in Raja Ampat to reefs in
other parts of Indonesia and across to reefs in other counties.
It is the heart of the “supply chain” of species. This
helps to replenish reefs that have been damaged by disease, bleaching,
overfishing and other detrimental activities - if and when appropriate
conditions are restored.
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