Raja Ampat

Region: Bird’s Head Peninsula, West Papua, Indonesia Type: Coral reef archipelago (1,500+ islands) Significance: Most biodiverse marine region on Earth — 1,397+ fish species, 600+ hard coral species First Wetpixel coverage: 2003

Overview

Raja Ampat (“The Four Kings”) is an archipelago off the Bird’s Head Peninsula of West Papua, Indonesia, consistently described in Wetpixel coverage as the most biodiverse marine region on Earth. Marine scientist Gerald Allen recorded 284 fish species on a single dive at Cape Kri — a record later broken at Tanjung Papisol with 330 species (^[1], ^[2]).

The photographic appeal spans wide-angle reef scenics (massive soft coral gardens, schooling baitfish, sea fans), manta ray encounters (20+ mantas at Manta Point), wobbegong sharks, blue-water mangroves, jellyfish lakes, and WWII wrecks. As Alex Mustard wrote: “Heaven Underwater is Raja Ampat” (^[3]).

Key dive areas include Dampier Strait (Kri, Manta Sandy, Sardines), Misool (Boo Windows, Magic Mountain), Waigeo (The Passage), and Fam/Penemu (Melissa’s Garden), plus adjacent Cenderawasih Bay and Triton Bay.

Wetpixel Coverage History

Discovery era (2003–2008)

The earliest Wetpixel mention is from 2003, when Michael Aw photographed the region for the “Richest Reefs” book (^[4]). Dutch-born pioneer Max Ammer built Kri Eco Resort and Sorido Eco Resort, opening the region to dive tourism after discovering it while searching for WWII wrecks.

Andrea and Antonella Ferrari published the first major Wetpixel trip report in November 2006, calling it “the last frontier of over-the-edge diving” (^[5]).

In 2007, Wetpixel partnered with Conservation International and Coral Reef Alliance to launch the Raja Ampat Entrance Tag Design Contest — a photo competition where the winning image was printed on 5,000+ park entrance tags. Alex Mustard won the inaugural contest with “Big Personality,” a pygmy seahorse portrait (^[6]). The contest ran annually through at least 2013.

Expedition era (2009–2013)

Eric Cheng led a Wetpixel Raja Ampat/Misool expedition in November–December 2010 (^[7]). Keri Wilk led a ReefNet documentation expedition in December 2009 (^[8]).

Burt Jones and Maurine Shimlock authored the definitive guidebooks: Diving Indonesia’s Raja Ampat (reviewed by Mustard, 2009) and Diving Indonesia’s Bird’s Head Seascape (reviewed by Drew Wong, 2011), both published with Conservation International (^[9], ^[10]).

The 2012 Wetpixel Ultimate Indonesia expedition aboard Damai II traveled from Triton Bay to Raja Ampat (^[11]). A dedicated UW imaging center opened at Raja4Divers resort on Pulau Pef in 2011 (^[12]).

Maturation era (2014–2023)

Coverage shifted from discovery to professional photography and conservation. Multiple Full Frame photo essays were published: Alex Tattersall (2014), Burt Jones & Maurine Shimlock (2015), Nick More (2019), and Alex Mustard’s Misool scenics (2021) (^[13], ^[14], ^[15], ^[16]).

Adam Hanlon led Wetpixel expeditions in September 2016 on Damai I (two back-to-back trips with photographers including Cor Bosman and Douglas Seifert) and a 2022 Photo Safari on Damai (^[17], ^[18]).

Mustard noted in 2021 that Misool had 25x more sharks than his first visit in 2006, a testament to conservation success (^[19]).

Conservation

Raja Ampat’s conservation story is one of the most significant threads in Wetpixel coverage:

• 2005–2010: Misool Eco Resort (founded by Andrew Miners) created a 164 sq mi Marine Conservation Area, expanded to 468 sq mi by 2010, with a 15-strong ranger team and radar surveillance. Over 6 years, 250% average increase in fish biomass (^[20]).
• 2007: Seven MPAs declared; tourism entrance fee system introduced (Rp 500,000 for foreigners) (^[21]).
• 2010: Bupati Marcus Wanma declared a 15,000 sq mi shark sanctuary — first in Indonesia — protecting sharks, mantas, mobulas, dugongs, and turtles. Driven by Shark Savers petition (8,500+ signatures) (^[22]).
• 2013: Shark sanctuary written into permanent provincial law — first such legal framework in Indonesia and the Coral Triangle (^[23]).
• 2014: Indonesia announced a national manta sanctuary (5.8 million sq km), building on Raja Ampat’s local protections (^[24]).
• 2015: Shawn Heinrichs and John Weller produced “Guardians of Raja Ampat,” shown to 10,000+ local community members (^[25]). Scientists confirmed the first documented manta ray nursery in Southeast Asia at Wayag Lagoon (^[26]).
• 2017: Caledonian Sky cruise ship ran aground at Crossover off Kri (March 4), destroying 18,882 sq m of reef — estimated 100 years to recover. Owners fined Rp 6 trillion (~US$450 million) (^[27], ^[28]). Fam Archipelago communities declared a 6th MPA (360,000 hectares) (^[29]).
• 2019: West Papua became Indonesia’s first conservation province; Conservation International awarded Global Conservation Hero (^[30]).

Notable Expeditions

References

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