Misool Eco Resort - Raja Ampat, Indonesia

16 January 2010: We have our winner!! And lots of juicy details about what we're seeing on our dives

By Marit Miners

Dear Friends,

We've been overwhelmed by the support we've received for the Misool Ranger Patrol over past month. During our month-long raffle to support our Rangers and raise funds to help us enforce the perimeter of our 425 sq km No-Take Zone, we received not only lots of money, but also plenty of encouraging words. We'd like to extend our most heartfelt thanks for both! They're both essential to maintaining our vigilance. Perhaps best of all, our Rangers, Rajak and Din, discovered without a shadow of a doubt that the outside world, which can seem very far away sometimes, is paying close attention to the work we're doing in Raja Ampat. So thank you all again.

And without further ado, we like to announce the winner of our Raffle... Mr Gar Duke! Wooh-hoo!

Gar and his lovely wife Nicole passed through Raja Ampat last May on their 14 metre sailboat Dreamkeeper. Misool Eco Resort was but one tiny stop-over on their 5-year circumnavigation of the globe, and before we knew it the winds shifted and it was time for them raise anchor and head Southwest to the Bandas. Altogether too brief a visit, but we felt fortunate to enjoy their company for the few days they spent here. Both Gar and Nicole are certified Reef Check survey divers and they had lots of great information and conservation ideas to share with us. We're really happy know they might just be coming back. Dreamkeeper is currently in the Andaman Islands and heading west. You can read their blog here. If this doesn't give you a desperate case of Wanderlust, nothing will.

Rajak and I will be going out on Patrol later this afternoon, and we'll be thinking of Nicole and Gar and all the other generous supporters. Thanks for helping us make it happen.

Misool Ranger Patrol Raffle

our ranger Rajak chooses the lucky winner from quite a pool!

Another exciting bit of news is that we're incorporating more in-depth diving news here on this page. You'll find lots more updates and photos about what we're seeing underwater. Just scroll down to view our first few updates about Stonefish, Frogfish, and Raja Ampat Pygmy Seahorses.

Misool Eco Resort Raja Ampat Indonesia

5 January 2010: Poisonous Pair
A beautiful pair of large Reef Stonefish (Synanceia verrucosa) was seen today at Magic Mountain. This fish is extremely rare in the region so we were surprised to see not one but two of them sitting close together, on top of the reef in plain view. Often they hide most of their bodies in sandy areas in order to ambush prey, leaving only their eyes and downturned mouth just barely visible. The Reef Stonefish has 13 poisonous spines on its dorsal fin and a puncture from one of these spines would inflict a possibly fatal and certainly excruciatingly painful wound. It is considered the most venomous fish in the world.

5 January 2010: Poisonous Pair

A beautiful pair of large Reef Stonefish (Synanceia verrucosa) was seen today at Magic Mountain. This fish is extremely rare in the region so we were surprised to see not one but two of them sitting close together, on top of the reef in plain view. Often they hide most of their bodies in sandy areas in order to ambush prey, leaving only their eyes and downturned mouth just barely visible. The Reef Stonefish has 13 poisonous spines on its dorsal fin and a puncture from one of these spines would inflict a possibly fatal and certainly excruciatingly painful wound. It is considered the most venomous fish in the world.

Two Stone Fish

2 January 2010: Giant White Frogfish
Photo by Vincent Demongeot	A white Giant Frogfish (Antennarius commersoni) was spotted today on Kalig. Like in this individual, these frogfish can develop scab-like patches which help them blend in with the reef. They come in a wide variety of hues, taking on the colour of their surroundings. In this case, there were large patches of white sponge right nearby. The Giant Frogfish grows up to 30 cm long, double or even triple the size of most other species of frogfish.

2 January 2010: Giant White Frogfish

Giant Frogfish

Photo by Vincent Demongeot

A white Giant Frogfish (Antennarius commersoni) was spotted today on Kalig. Like in this individual, these frogfish can develop scab-like patches which help them blend in with the reef. They come in a wide variety of hues, taking on the colour of their surroundings. In this case, there were large patches of white sponge right nearby. The Giant Frogfish grows up to 30 cm long, double or even triple the size of most other species of frogfish.

January 1 2010: Raja Ampat Pygmy Seahorse

Eight of these beautiful Raja Ampat pygmy seahorses were recently sighted on the House Reef on four different gorgonian fans.

Raja Ampat Pygmy

photo by Sascha Janson

The jury is still out on whether they are in fact a distinct species, but from our observations we lean towards the opinion that they are. For one thing, they are much more active than H. bargibanti or H. denise. Note how in the photo on the left, the individual has left its host fan entirely, something almost unheard of for denise and bargibanti).

If you look at the left photo closely you will also see a tiny crustacean of some sort just above the seahorse's nose. We don't know whether this was just a coincidence or whether the crustacean was being hunted by the hippocampus.

The Raja Ampat Pygmies seem to prefer living in pairs rather than in groups, as is sometimes the case with other pygmy species such as H. denise and H. bargibanti. We have seen up to 15 denise on one fan, whereas we rarely see more than one pair of Raja Ampat pygmies on one fan, no matter how big the fan is.

Raja Ampat Pygmy pair

photo by Sascha Janson

15 December 2009:  Support our Ranger Patrol and win a free trip to Misool Eco Resort

By Marit Miners

Dear Friends,

Andrew and I are finally back on the island after a long time away, first at the US dive show DEMA, and then for a honeymoon in Buenos Aires. Our home-coming to Batbitim was bittersweet... as always, the island looked even more breathtakingly beautiful than when we left. Jumping into the crystal clear waters and checking in on the 4 massive schools of fish under the pier was exhilarating. And I was thrilled to hear that mantas have been spotted on our House Reef again! The dive guides have discovered a whole host of exciting new stuff, like leaf scorpionfish, freckled frogfish, and leopard sharks. Sascha has been busy documenting the breeding cycle of Fritz, the pygmy seahorse who's taken up residence under our pier at 12 metres. All great stuff...

But as I started talking to our Ranger Patrol staff about all that had transpired in the time we were away, it became clear that the just below the glittering surface some very serious trouble is brewing. During the months of October and November this year, our Ranger Patrol has intercepted 12 small fishing boats and 1 large fishing boat inside our 425 sq km No-Take Zone. During the first half of December, they've intercepted 7 small fishing boats, 2 large tuna fishing boats, and one shark finning boat, not far from one of our favourite dive sites, Manta Mountain.

Folks, this is a marked and frightening increase after an impressively low incidence during the past 6-9 months. No one is sure to what the increase should be attributed. The Patrol is now going out nearly every night.

Meanwhile, our Rangers have expanded their duties. Together with our speed boat drivers and dive guides, they've organised cleanups at the nearby beaches of Yillet and Kalig. They recently unearthed 6 huge sacks worth of rubbish from the beach as well as the shallow water surrounding the beach. They recovered innumerable flip-flops, remnants of old nets, 2 empty refrigerant canisters, and several barnacle-encrusted buoys. The beaches are now ready for a proper Christmas picnic...

In addition, the Ranger Patrol has spearheaded a Floating Library project. While our head Ranger, Rajak Tamher, was in Bali on his 8-week capacity building mission with The Coral Reef Alliance, he devised a program to provide books for the local school children. CORAL rep Naneng Setiasih helped secure free Indonesian-language children's' books, donated by the publishers (thanks!!). The Rangers now use our Patrol boat to deliver these books to the primary schools in the nearby villages of Yellu and Dabatan. The students at these schools are desperate for learning materials. (The schools are so short of funds they can't afford to pay their teachers - Misool Eco Resort and private donors support two full-time teachers in Dabatan).

Our Ranger Patrol has received generous funding from WildAid, The Coral Reef Alliance, Precious Planet, and several private donors. But as the number of infractions increases, we need to step up the intensity of our patrol accordingly. Quite simply stated, the Ranger Patrol is operating beyond its budget.

But the trouble is we just can't afford not to patrol. Every long-line we pluck out of the water could be hundreds or thousands of fish. And who knows how much damage a shark-finner can wreak upon our reefs in just one night.

Each time our Rangers do a routine tour of our NTZ, they use about 75 litres of fuel, which comes to 525,000 Rupiah, or 38 Euros. When they're chasing long-liners out of our NTZ, they're using much more. A round-trip journey to the local schools to deliver library books uses about 100 litres of fuel, costing about 50 Euros.

Our No-Take Zone is located at the very epicentre of marine biodiversity. The threat of illegal fisherman extracting Raja Ampat's marine resources is immediate, and requires vigilance and consistent patrolling. Similarly, we must do all we can to ensure that the future stewards of this area are properly prepared for what lies ahead. They don't stand a chance of holding onto their natural resources if they haven't got a basic education.

We'd like to invite you to help us protect this invaluable area, for us, for hosts, for generations to come. Your donation of 50 Euros is enough to send our Ranger Patrol around our entire NTZ once, plus a nice cushion should they have cause to chase fishing boats out of our area. The same amount is enough to bring the Floating Library to the children of Dabatan and Yellu.

For every donation of 50 Euros, you'll be entered once into a raffle. One lucky winner will receive a free all-inclusive 7-night stay at Misool Eco Resort, plus a 10 Dive Package. That's worth over 2000 Euros, my friends! The drawing will be on January 15th.

You can use these handy buttons below to make your donation with Paypal. You don't need to be a Paypal member, and you can pay with a credit card, check, or Paypal balance. If you prefer to pay by bank transfer, please contact us at MisoolRangerProject@misoolecoresort.com for details.

-you will be entered into the raffle one time

-you will be entered into the raffle two times

-you will be entered into the raffle one time for every multiple of 50 euros.

Fine Print:
-contest is not open to those who have already invested in Misool Eco Resort. Or employees. But anyone can donate to the Misool Ranger Patrol, and good-karma points are freely awarded.
-Prize is a free 7-night stay for one person in a Water Cottage + 10 Dive Package at Misool Eco Resort, subject to availability. Includes full-board accommodation, transfer to and from to Sorong on scheduled transfer dates, and 10 Guided Air Dives with tank and weights.

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