Expedition to the Banda Islands (Day 2)

On my second day in Banda, the plan was for me to join a cetacean survey of the surrounding area.  Besides the islands themselves, Banda is an incredibly unique place for its bathymetry (underwater topography).  Banda is one of the only places in the world where very large depths can be found just offshore.  In most places it may take days to reach depths of 4km, but in Banda, you only need to travel about 1-2 hours to reach those depths.  This results in lots of upwelling where nutrients are brought to the surface and large fish bowls are created.  This means that whales and dolphins can often be found close to the islands as they feed on the plethora of fish.  In particular, Ben, the cetacean expert joining our trip, has found that sperm whales, which normally continually travel long distances, spend months on end in the Banda Sea for some unknown reason.  Ben is working with the CTC to start up a program surveying the whales and dolphins in the surrounding area in order to gather data on important deep sea habitats and corridors for cetaceans to include in the development of larger marine protected area networks.

Unfortunately, Ben was sick on our first full day in Banda so we had to cancel the cetacean survey for the day.  Instead, I ended up joining my co-workers Marthen and Andre for their marine tourism survey.  Currently there are two dive shops in Banda, with one of them, Blue Motion, serving most of the guests and with whom CTC works with.  While Banda has some of the best reefs in the world, tourism has not developed that much because of the difficulty in getting to the islands.  In order to gather more information for dive tourism as well as for developing a MPA network, CTC spent two weeks travelling to most of the islands to map the reefs using GPS and describing unique locations on the reefs. 

Field work in Banda is like any other relatively remote location…nothing seems to go to plan.  The captain of the boat we were going to take thought he had the day off and was at a different island, so we ended up waiting a while until we could organize a new boat.  Finally we were able to get the boat that the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) uses to patrol the marine protected area in Banda.  Joining the reef surveys was Ali and Toufan.  Both of them work for the MMAF to protect and conserve the existing MPA in Banda. After packing the boat with our gear we headed off to Hatta Island, the southern-most island in Banda and known to have some of the most beautiful reefs.  Our first site was at an atoll south of Hatta.  As we headed towards Hatta, it kept looking like it was getting farther and farther, which is why Marthen also calls it the “moving island.”  As we got closer to the island I spotted a pod of about 15 dolphins off to our starboard side, a testament to the amazing wildness of the area.

Setting up our gear before heading out to Hatta

The ocean was like glass

Hatta Island

On our way to the reef we saw a fishing boat out on the atoll.  Fishing in these waters is permitted, but Ali was concerned they may be doing cyanide fishing.  Before heading to our site, we decided to go to the boat so Ali could board the ship and talk with the captain to make sure they were following regulations.  In what felt like a scene from some discovery or national geographic channel show, we pulled up to the ship as the fisherman all stood there looking inquisitively back at us.  As we pulled alongside the boat, Ali hopped on as a group of fishermen crowded around the wheelhouse and the other fishermen continued doing their work.  While Ali was talking with the captain, Toufan explored around the boat and found an air compressor on board.  This was pretty unique to have on a standard fishing boat, but is often used to quasi-scuba dive to either fix the gear or the boat underwater.  Since the only air source is a tube connected to the boat, it is very dangerous to use.  When Ali returned to our boat, he told us that they were following regulations and were a fishing boat from Java that was currently setting up rumpons.  Rumpons are the Indonesian term for a fish aggregation device that is used to attract fish to a certain location.  The platforms are usually made of bamboo and fishermen often hang coconut leaves below the water to attract fish.  After a certain period of time, the fishermen return and then use nets to collect the large group of fish. 

Spotting the fishing boat on the horizon

Fishermen at work with the rumpon platform in the background

Checking on the fishing boat
to make sure they are following regulations

Toufan posing with the ship's air compressor (VERY dangerous)

An example of a rumpon that was
left in the bay with a hut for sleeping

After checking on the boat we proceeded to our dive site.  Since there were 5 of us and only 12 tanks for 3 sites, we ended up taking turns between diving and snorkeling.  At the first site I ended up snorkeling while the other four went diving.  We chose this site since a live-aboard ship a week previously had encountered nine hammerhead sharks.  Getting my first look at Banda's reefs, I was blown away by the coral coverage.  Every spot was filled with various species of hard and soft corals, sponges, and anemones swaying in the currents.  Large schools of fish swam around me as I watched the other four descend deep.  During the dive I ended up spotting two hawksbill turtles gliding with the current.  Towards the end of the dive while swimming close to the other divers, I spotted a school of about 10 giant green humphead parrotfish, the largest about a meter long!  The lime green fish swam together eating at the coral along the way.  I spent a lot of energy trying to follow them, but they were too fast and eventually swam away.  When Andre surfaced, he said he saw a 10-12 foot scalloped hammerhead shark at about 80 feet.  This was his first hammerhead shark he had ever seen and was so excited that he forgot to take a photo before the shark swam away.

CTC mapping the reefs

School of green humphead parrotfish

After the dive we headed back to Hatta and anchored off a picture perfect white sand beach to eat lunch.  Lunch was a delicious combination of noodles, potato salad, chicken, and fish.  After stuffing ourselves with food we geared up for our second dive just off the beach.  The boat we were using wasn't made for diving, so we had to put our gear on in the water.  Once everyone had their gear we went down below.  Just off the beach was a bountiful reef about 2 meters below the surface.  Only about 100 meters offshore, the reef drops off into the deep, an example of the amazing bathymetry in Banda.  We descended along the wall to about 80 feet.  Along the wall were gigantic gorgonians (sea fans) and sponges, some about the size of a small car.  Reef fish of every color of the rainbow dotted the waters ahead of us.  We continued swimming along the wall mapping the reef site.  Never before had I seen coral and sponges so large.  Whenever I scuba dive I normally feel like I am entering another world.  At this reef I felt like I was entering a giant’s realm and felt miniature compared to the reef surrounding me.

Small fish with blue fluorescent streaks

One of the divers looking miniature compared to the coral reef

Gigantic gorgonians (sea fans)

Moray eel

Mapping the reef

The reef drops off drastically from the shallow waters 

On the way to our last dive site at the island of Banda Besar (which translates to Big Banda), we again spotted a large pod of dolphins crossing the channel.  We again donned our gear and entered our last site for the day.  Similar to the 2^nd site, this reef drops off deep to about 120 feet just 100 meters off shore.  Dropping down along the wall we again encountered gigantic car-sized corals and sponges.  Unique to this reef is a large swim through cave about 10 meters in length filled with sponges and corals inside.  We each took turns swimming through the cave at about 100 feet and then slowly ascended along the wall filled with orange, yellow, and red corals.  Once in shallow waters, Marthen spotted a decent sized marble grouper.

Swimming along the coral wall

Large sponges (some the size of cars)

A large 10-meter cave surrounded by sponges

Beautiful peacock grouper on the left

A look inside a sponge

One of the largest sponges that I saw,
about the size of an entire person.  I was very tempted to climb inside.

Pufferfish

A gorgonian the size of Marthen!

School of bigeye trevally

Towards the end of the afternoon we concluded all of our survey work for the day and headed back to our hotel as the sun began to set behind Gunung Api.  Through these surveys CTC has found several new dive sites for tourism and conservation as well as spawning and aggregation sites (SPAGS) where fish mate in high numbers.  SPAGS serve as crucial sources of fish production for the surrounding areas and are key to successfully marine protected area management planning.  Surveys like the one I participated in are crucial towards providing accurate information for the development of conservation plans.

Gunung Api and Bandaneira

Gunung Api

Fort Belgica