Raja Ampat

The Raja Ampat Islands in eastern Indonesia, spanning 46,000 sq km, are the most biodiverse marine region on Earth, home to 1,638 reef fish species and 534 coral species. The archipelago’s diverse ecosystems, from coral reefs to mangroves, support 22 shark species, cleaning stations for Oceanic manta rays, and the world’s largest nesting beaches for Pacific leatherback turtles. Raja Ampat is a tentative UNESCO World Heritage site.

The islands’ pristine condition was preserved for centuries through their remote location and traditional practices, but unsustainable fishing, rising tourism, and pandemic impacts now threaten this unique ecosystem.

Thee Bird’s Head Seascape marine protected area (MPA) in Indonesia is home to the most diverse ocean life on Earth. To prevent illegal fishing in the Raja Ampat archipelago to the north, Blue Marine is aiming to replicate the successful enforcement model developed on our projects in Turkey.   

Construction of two community-ranger boats began in 2024, and we held initial meetings with the MPA authorities to discuss how best to spread knowledge to resorts, homestays and live-aboards of a code of conduct for all water-based activities in the region.   

We also met with Papua University about engaging local students to conduct socio-economic surveys in villages around Raja Ampat, and recruited students to monitor fish markets for illegally caught species. We continued to collect marine megafauna each day at all major dive sites in and around the Dampier Strait.   

In 2025, Blue Marine and marine advocate Zafer Kizilkaya – who has done much to expand ocean protection in Turkey – will hold training programmes with local communities, regional government and MPA authorities. We will push ahead with baseline assessment of coral reefs, and areas where illegal fishing occurs most frequently will be identified. We aim to increase the fleet of patrol vessels to at least four, manned by local marine stewards.