Travel

A snapper crashing through a huge school of anchovies-a not uncommon sight around Raja Ampat
 

Large, remote, and sparsely populated, Misool Island is the second biggest of Raja Ampat’s “four kings.” Located 90 miles from the main regional city of Sorong, Misool is a five-hour journey by fast boat if you are one of the lucky ones staying on the island, or an overnight sail if you are one of the lucky ones visiting on a liveaboard. Either way, you are lucky: Misool has some of the very best diving in all of Raja Ampat, an area renowned as probably the best and most biodiverse tropical diving in the world.

If you were to make one of those journeys and woke the next morning in the southeast corner of Misool, you should truly count your blessings, as you are in what is effectively a privately managed marine reserve. In many ways, the Misool Marine Reserve is akin to an African game reserve, where poachers are kept out and the animals—under the active protection of rangers—are able to thrive as nature intended them to.

That incredible marine biodiversity has always been there, thriving in the rich currents that sweep through the area from the north and the upwellings that flow creates from the deep waters of the Seram Trough to the south. It’s just that nobody really knew it was there…
 

Raja Ampat translates to “four kings”—referring to the islands of Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati, and Misool
 

A diver explores a beautiful reef, surrounded by cascades of baitfish

The Misool Foundation

It’s almost impossible to overstate just how pivotal Andy and Marit Miners have been in restoring Misool to its current condition. But consider this basic set of facts: When this Anglo-Swedish couple first arrived in the area in the early 2000s aboard the liveaboard Andy was managing, there was a full-blown shark finning operation set up on the beach at Batbitim Island. The shallow waters off the beach were a graveyard for the de-finned shark corpses, and rampant cyanide and dynamite fishing were decimating the reefs and marine life.

The Miners decided they had no option but to get involved. They set about creating what has, in many ways, become the de-facto role model for successful and sustainable ecotourism based on working with and empowering the local community. At the core of what has been achieved in restoring the marine biodiversity of southeast Misool is the Misool Foundation—the brainchild of Andy and Marit and the partners they managed to bring on board to make it all happen.
 

Andy and Marit Miner, the creators of the Misool Foundation
 

The Misool Marine Reserve protects 300,000 acres (over 1,200 square kilometres) of marine ecosystems in southern Raja Ampat. This protected area provides a safe haven for thousands of species in one of the most biodiverse places on Earth
 

The Misool Foundation serves as the foundation—both figuratively and literally—for the progress made, benefitting not only the environment but also the local communities. This journey began with a groundbreaking agreement in 2005, where the Miners secured a lease for Batbitim Island and a significant expanse of the surrounding sea. Integral to the agreement was that the island would become the location for Misool Eco Resort—and the shark-finning operation would be evicted from the beach.

The Foundation went on to establish the Misool Marine Reserve, which now protects an area of some 300,000 acres of prime maritime real estate (roughly twice the size of Singapore) and includes two distinct no-take zones where all fishing is banned. The Foundation also finances the team of 20 local rangers; the ranger stations on the islands of Yellit, Kalig, and Daram; and five dedicated patrol boats providing 24-hour monitoring of the marine reserve in conjunction with the Raja Ampat marine police. Over 900 such patrols are conducted annually and as many as 50 illegal fishing boats are intercepted every year.
 

Hard to be anything other than elated when diving the stunning reefs around Misool!

The Results

There simply is no data on the original biodiversity of southeast Misool either before or after the rampant destruction of the illegal fishing boats and shark finners. But surveys conducted since 2007 provide an indication of what the original biodiversity may have been through the changes observed since the creation of the marine reserve, and the daily patrols to protect it.

Since 2007, the fish biomass in the reserve increased by an average of 250% and in some key areas by as much as 600%. There are 25 times more sharks inside the reserve than outside of it, the total number of manta rays in the reserve has doubled, and sightings of rare oceanic mantas have increased 25-fold. All this while Misool Eco Resort was built from scratch, entirely from locally reclaimed wood, milled and shaped by a portable sawmill on the beach where the shark-finning operation once was.

Misool Eco Resort is now firmly established as a high-end and highly sought-after location, which is often fully booked up one year in advance. The resort and Misool Foundation employ more than 250 staff, almost all of which are Indonesian, and it is estimated those salaries support around 1,000 people from the local community.
 

A squadron of devil rays corrals a baitball towards the surface
 

Wobbegong sharks have benefitted greatly from the protected areas around Misool and they proliferate thanks to those protections

Diving Misool

By far the best diving in Misool is in the southeast of the island, concentrated along the two archipelagos that stretch out from the island towards the Seram Trough. Remote and swept by the nutrient-rich currents and upwellings, the sheer density of marine life around parts of those archipelagos is simply stunning. At times, it’s almost too much to absorb, as there is just so much happening! Superb ridges and valleys of beautiful and incredibly healthy sea fans filter the passing water for its nutrients, while huge schools of sardines and other baitfish sweep and swirl, blocking the sun completely when above you.
 

An explosion of life around a sea fan. Sights like this are common in the areas around Misool (and Raja generally) and an indication of a thriving marine environment
 

Almost everywhere you look is something exceptional, and every sense you have is telling you that you are in a very special place. To the north is the Saghof-Daram Archipelago with stellar sites like Andiamo, Two-Tree Rock and Baby Rock offering spectacular diving, while the Southern Archipelago with the wonderful Fiabacet, Anti-Chovie and Boo Windows dive sites are equally sensational. Then, of course, there are sites like Magic Mountain, where the reef and oceanic manta rays hang out to be cleaned. Misool is one of the few places in the world where both species are seen regularly.
 

While big scenes showcasing huge amounts of life are hard for a photographer to tear themselves away from, for those who do, small treasures like ornate ghost pipefish are waiting for them
 

Misool manta magic! Seeing mantas around Misool is a realistic goal at several dive sites. Misool is also one of very few places on Earth where reef mantas and oceanic mantas intermingle
 

You get the picture: It’s good, really good. Perhaps a better description of it all is the one from Dr. Mark Erdmann, the Vice President of Conservation International’s Asia-Pacific marine programs: “There is greater biodiversity—that is to say, a larger number and greater diversity of fish, coral, and molluscs—on these reefs than anywhere on Earth. A single football field-sized patch of Misool’s reefs has nearly five times the number of coral species as the entire Caribbean Sea, which covers a total area nearly as big as India!”
 

Wobbegongs are a popular subject around Raja. They are beautiful, unique, and they rarely move!

How to Dive Misool

There are two basic options to dive Misool: One is very straightforward, if expensive, while the other is more cost effective, but a more complicated choice. The simple one is biting the bullet, booking well in advance and staying at Misool Eco Resort. It will be costly but remember that what you are paying for is something quite exceptional and supports the overall sustainability of this unique area.

The alternative is of course one of the many liveaboards that feature Misool on their itineraries and as such is a very logical choice, as it allows you to move easily from site to site on both the Saghof-Daram and Southern Archipelagos. But all liveaboards are not created equally; some are exceptional, but many are less so. My first trip to Misool was back in 2008, and last October, I was back there for my tenth trip! Every one of those trips was on the same boat, the SMY Ondina.
 

Southern Misool Eco Resort, a spectacular eco lodge nestled in the heart of the stunning Misool Marine Reserve
 

The SMY Ondina and one of its zodiac-style dive boats
 

Why the same boat you may ask? Well, I trust the Ondina having been caught in some very bad weather on it a few times, and I know that they know the sites in Misool (and Raja Ampat, generally) very well and how to dive them at their best. Plus, you will be diving in strong currents, in some very remote areas, and need to know there is an effective and efficient surface support and tender system you can rely on to pick you up at the end of the dive. In all the hundreds of dives I have done from Ondina, I have never been let down, ever—which is no small thing!
 

A tower of batfish or spadefish: Schools of these recognizable fish are often seen in the open waters near reefs

When to Dive Misool

While Misool can, in theory, be dived throughout the year, the reality is that come June, the monsoonal winds mean big seas on both the Saghof-Daram and Southern Archipelagos, which make diving difficult and greatly reduce underwater visibility. The journey from Sorong also becomes increasingly uncomfortable and can start to get dangerous, so Misool Eco Resort closes to guests completely from mid-June through to September.

The liveaboard season tends to start later, typically in November, and usually goes through to around March, although some boats do arrive earlier and stay later.

The optimum months for Misool are from mid-October through to early April, as the weather tends to be good (or very good) and the surface conditions and underwater visibility are generally excellent apart from occasional heavy rain.
 

While certain times of year bring murkier, nutrient-rich waters, the amount of life is always staggering
 

Devil rays fly above a huge sea fan and coral outcrop, a not uncommon sight around Misool
 

Misool offers possibly the very best tropical diving in the world—a bold statement no doubt, but it truly is exceptional diving in an area that has more generally been proven to have the highest marine biodiversity in the world! Some of the sites on the Saghof-Daram and Southern Archipelagos are simply stunning, and I can only hope that my images do them justice.

But here’s the thing about Misool: It’s basically as good as it gets in tropical diving, and yet we nearly lost it to rampant and unfettered greed. The backstory to it all and the astonishingly successful leadership of Andy and Marit Miners in having the vision and commitment to marshal the resources needed to turn it all around makes Misool even more special. It really is one of those places you must see for yourself!
 

The sheer amount of marine life that proliferates in Misool is truly staggering and a beacon of hope for what the underwater realm can still be—if we take the initiative to help it
 

Originally from the UK, Don Silcock is now an Australian citizen but based from Bali in Indonesia. His website, www.indopacificimages.com, has extensive location guides, articles and images on some of the best diving locations in the Indo-Pacific region and big-animal experiences globally.