Snorkeling in Bunaken National Marine Park
Bunaken is part of the Bunaken National Marine Park, which has some of the highest levels of marine biodiversity in the world. Scuba diving attracts many visitors to the island. Bunaken is located in northern Sulawesi, Indonesia. It belongs administratively to the municipality of Manado.
The Bunaken National Marine Park was formally established in 1991 and is among the first in the culture system of marine parks in Indonesia. The park covers a total area of 890.65 sq km, of which 97% are covered with sparkling water, warm tropical. The remaining 3% of the park is terrestrial, including the five islands of Bunaken, Manado Tua, Mantehage, Nain and Siladen. While each of these islands has a special character, is the aquatic ecosystem that attracts most naturalists.
The waters of Bunaken National Marine Park are extremely deep (1566 m in Manado Bay), clear (for visibility m 35-40), restoration of temperature (27 to 29 ° C) Choose an interest group – corals, fish, echinoderms, sponges – and the number of families, genera and species is related to unexpectedly high. For example, 7 of 8 species of giant clams that occur in the world, occur in Bunaken. The park has about 70 genera of corals compared with only 10 in Hawaii. Although the exact number of fish species is unknown, may be slightly higher than the Philippines, where 2,500 species, nearly 70% of all known fish species in the Indo-West Pacific, are.
Bunaken Oceanic currents may explain, in part, why Bunaken National Marine Park is a treasure of biodiversity. Northeasternly currents generally sweep through the park but abundant cons-currents and gyros related to lunar cycles are seen as a trap for free swimming larvae. This is particularly true on the south side of the island crescent-shaped Bunaken, located in the park. A snorkeling or diving near Lekue or Fukui may spot over 33 species of butterfly fish and numerous types of groupers, damsels, damsels and gobies. The gobies, smallish fish with bulging eyes and modified fins that allow them to adhere to hard surfaces, are the most diverse but least known fish in the park.
Biologists believe that the abundance of hard corals is crucial in maintaining high levels of diversity in the park. Hard corals are the architects of the reefs, without them, numerous marine organisms would be homeless and hungry. Many fish species are closely associated with certain types of corals (folious, branching, massive, etc.) for shelter and spawning. Others, like parrots Balbometopon huge humpback muricatum, are “corallivorous” and hard corals depend for their livelihood. mouthparts bones fused into an impressive “beak” allow these gregarious fish to reefs crisis roasted peanuts.
Some 20,000 people live in the natural resources of Bunaken National Marine Park. Although there are inevitable conflicts between resource protection and use by the people, the government of Indonesia has adopted a fairly unusual and pragmatic approach to park management. The idea is to promote the rational use of resources by avoiding over-exploitation. Local communities, government officials, dive center operators, local nature groups, tourists and scientists have played an active role in developing exclusive zones for diving, wood collection, fishing and other forms of use. Bunaken Marine Park has become an important example of how to Sulawesi, and the rest of Indonesia, can help protect natural resources.
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