A few days ago I went snorkeling with four Dutch tourists. Our destination was the coral reef of Anggresi beach. It was around one hour boat ride from Arfai - the boat station where I usually bring the tourists to. I consider snorkeling as an alternative way for local fishermen to make money besides catching fish. I hope that through the interaction between the tourists and the fishermen, both sides can share information and experiences about the importance of coral reef preservation.
Coral reef is a marine ecosystem that is rich of biodiversity. There are thousands of species of fish and corals in the reef. So, the preservation of coral reef is important not only for the development of sustainable tourism but also for the many functions the coral reef has both for human life and the whole environment as well.
Unfortunately, the coral reef along the shores of the Dorey bay is being destroyed by city dwellers who just throw their wastes on to the streets of Manokwari. When rain comes, these wastes will flow into the sea. They are the main threats to coral reef besides the sand mining activities that are now going on along the Maruni and Anggresi beaches.
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| Coral reef in southern area of Dore bay |
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| Truck was carrying sand and gravel to be used construction materials |
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| Angresi beach |
Underwater picture such as the one that you can see above was taken using Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT3 which is able to produce high quality photographs of coral reef and ornamental fish at sea. Another waterproof camera that I recommend is the newest one that has just been released by Nikon. It is a Nikon Coolpix W300. The camera can withstand water pressure of up to 10 meters below the sea surface and produce crystal clear photographs with its 5x optical zoom, Nikor lens. by Charles Roring
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