Diving in Cenderawasih Bay, July 2013

Jak and Corinne Denny

Cenderawasih Bay is a remote area on the inside of the Bird’s Head Peninsula of West Papuan Indonesia. Access is via the port of Manokwari where we boarded the Dewi Nusantara for our eleven-day diving adventure.

The Dewi Nusantara is a 58 m three masted schooner build in 2007 modelling a mid 19th century sailing ship. This luxury vessel is set up specifically for divers. The Dewi Nusantara can take up to eighteen passengers and specialises in diving in the Indonesian archipelago, including Cenderawasih Bay.

On our first night aboard we headed southwards on glassy smooth waters towards the Cenderawasih marine National Park. The complement of twelve diving guests were all intent on diving with the whale sharks that frequent this area and stay for extended periods. This occurrence has come about as an association with the local fishermen working from bagans, which are platform fishing boats. To attract fish, intensely bright lights are illuminated at night to attract small fish and squid and then nets are dropped to capture the bounty. Over umpteen decades the whale sharks have learnt that they can get a meal by sucking on the nets from beneath to extract small fish. Rather than objecting to this poaching from the catch, the fishermen consider the whale sharks’ presence to be good luck. As the whale sharks stay within the Cenderawasih Bay location there is a very good chance of being able to interact and have close encounters with them.

We were not disappointed.

On our first morning in the area members of the crew headed out at first light in search of a bagan being visited by whale sharks. By the time we'd had our morning pre-breakfast coffees the search party had returned with good news. We grabbed cameras and snorkel gear and within a few minutes we were in the water with two of these magnificent creatures. They seemed completely unperturbed by our presence and more intent on slurping tasty morsels from the nets supplemented by offerings from the fishermen. There was no need to panic about getting photos as the whale sharks weren't going anywhere and between feeding just cruised around us passing so close that we had to be careful not to make contact. Practically all the action occurred in the top few metres of water and we were able to choose various positions to view the graceful giants from every possible perspective. The two whale sharks were juvenile males of 5 - 8 metres.  One had a damaged tail fin which we were led to believe was the result of an unfortunate encounter with a boat propeller. Both whale sharks had an entourage of remoras and two or three tiny yellow fish that swam without apparent danger around and just inside the open mouths of the whale sharks.

The whale sharks have distinctive spotted markings which are akin to fingerprints. Both had clear evidence of a tag inserted below the dorsal fin. To date comparatively little is known about whale sharks and a database has been set up worldwide to identify individuals and to track their movements in an endeavour to understand more about the behaviour of these animals.

One feature that surprised us is the comparatively tiny eyes situated at the side of their giant heads. Despite their eyes being small they were able to move with consummate ease amongst the divers without anyone being bumped or swiped by their huge tails. Never the less we were still very careful to respect their territory and not to encroach on their space.

After ninety minutes of magical experience it was time for us to have our breakfast and recharge both camera and our own batteries. It wasn't long though before we were heading out again this time with the option of snorkel or scuba. The whale sharks were just as intent on feeding as before and once again we had ninety minutes of further awesome close encounters. The large tunas which cruised by seemed minuscule in comparison and barely rated a mention.

As if this wasn't a case of great fortune we repeated the whole event the following day at a different bagan with two different whale sharks, one of which was even bigger than those encountered the previous day.

During our eleven days stay we did an amazing variety of dives. As so few divers venture into this remote region, the marine environment is still relatively unexplored. This is evidenced by the number of previously unidentified species now being listed as endemic to this particular region. Of particular interest were the walking sharks, the ornate angelfish, the Burgess butterflyfish, the Cenderawasih longnose butterflyfish and the purple and yellow Caitlin dottybacks.

Our dives included wall dives, muck dives and coral reef dives with huge barrel sponges. Generally the day's diving finished with a night dive, which was made even more enjoyable by a post dive hot chocolate laced with Bailey's Irish Cream.

The whole Dewi Nusantara operation reaches superlative standards whether it be the friendliness of the crew, the slick diving operations, the luxurious accommodation, the fantastic food menu or the crew's preparedness to meet the divers' every wish. The warm greetings on our return from each dive matched the warmth of the water!