Rare and varied sea life blooms in Triton Bay, Indonesia

By Sue Hacking

A chorus of pigeons, hornbills and cockatoos has awakened us in the Triton Bay Divers cove. Cool mist hangs low over the mainland mountains. Donning our swim gear for a morning dive, we’re pleased to see blue sky over the strait. It will be a bright day underwater.

South of Indonesia’s Raja Ampat and east of the famous Spice Islands of Ambon and Banda, lies a newly “discovered” cruising ground: Kaimana Regency and, specifically, Triton Bay.

Encompassing some 90nm north to south and numerous coves and offshore islands, this coast of Papua is home to the best of tropical marine life: from giant whale sharks to tiny pygmy seahorses.

Papua is one of Indonesia’s least populated areas, and many a day passes with only a lone dugout canoe or small inter-island freighter chugging along the straits. The only resort in the region is the newly opened Triton Bay Divers, located on Iris Strait, about 30nm south of Kaimana. Owners Leeza English and Jimmy Thai welcome visiting yachts and look forward to sharing their knowledge of the area.

Kaimana and Triton Bay are formed inside towering limestone cliffs up to 3,000 feet high, bedecked in lush green, often pristine forest. Bird song echoes from shore to shore; overhead, one can spot sea eagles, parrots and frigate birds. The sound of a feathery deep thrumming marks the passage of the black, white and brown Blyth’s hornbill.

Local custom has banned reef bombing, and the villagers are ardent in keeping non-Papuan fishing vessels from entering the waters. It was here, just nine years ago, that marine biologists from Papua and Australia observed more than 330 fish species in one dive site, breaking the record set previously from a dive in Raja Ampat. They also discovered more than 20 species of marine life never seen before.

This is truly a cradle of life.

More than 30 named dive sites lie within the Triton Bay area, and exploration of this intricate coastline continues. Strong currents feed colorful soft corals along the entrances to the straits, and backwater coves harbor the macro-life that many divers seek: brilliant nudibranchs and carefully camouflaged pygmy seahorses.

Visibility varies from 30 feet to more than 100 feet (10-30m) but each dive brings new creatures to light. You can swim with turtles, be surrounded by schools of unicorn fish and snappers, and marvel at the huge groupers and sweetlips that lurk behind pink and purple sea fans.

In the open bays, huge fishing platforms called “bagans” anchor out for nightly net fishing. They are 80-foot (25m) trimarans with two stubby masts festooned with ropes to hold up the many bits of wood that go out to the bamboo floats 20 feet (6m) on each side of the main hull.

With a small house on deck for the crew and a small generator, these craft anchor and work at night, lowering nets under each wing-deck and attracting fish with lights on deck. At intervals throughout the night, the nets are raised, the fish removed, and the nets lowered again.

Obviously, some fish escape and the whale sharks have worked this out. The best time to swim with these gentle giants is at dawn during the dark of the moon, when they are more likely attracted to the lights of the bagans. There is no need to arrange a visit beforehand; just dinghy over and ask for “ikan besar”, literally “fish big”, and you’ll be met with shaking heads or bright smiles and pointing.

If a huge gray-and-white spotted body appears beneath your tender, slip in and swim with the world’s largest fish. The fishermen will feed the whale shark handfuls of bait fish to keep the whale shark circling back for more.

Mid-afternoon sun burns hot on this coast of Papua, but the rays are welcome after a morning spent in the sea. Today’s highlights were two 5-foot tasseled wobbegong sharks, fields of orange soft corals, and the spotting of two new nudibranchs. We wave to a passing longboat that has come to the cove for fresh water from the spring.

Tomorrow we sail for Tual in the southern Malukus, re-entering the hubbub of southern Indonesia. But Papuan smiles, bird song, the fragrance of jasmine on the night air, and the quiet of jungle-clad mountains over pristine coral reefs will beckon our return.

 

Sue Hacking is a writer based on her 48-foot catamaran Ocelot. She has been sailing the world with her husband and children since December 2001. They have spent the past eight years cruising Indonesia and Southeast Asia. To read more about their travels, visit http://hackingfamily.com. Comments on this story are welcome at [email protected].

 

To see more photos of Triton Bay, above and below the water, visit S/V Ocelot’s Facebook page (svOcelot).

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