Healthy reefs = happy divers

Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Here at Wicked Diving Komodo, we do more than just dive :) We actually care about and observe our reefs very closely. We are always trying to learn more, to find more ways to help preserve our the reefs and improve them. 

One of the ways we do this is by educating our staff, guests and friends about why the reefs and seas in our region are so important the larger biosphere. Here is a section from our ever growing number of pages on the marine life and ecosystem in which we operate:

Komodo National Park has been a national park since 1980 with the Indonesian government recognising the true worth of this fine asset for the local community and economy. In 1986, its status was further elevated and it was declared a World Heritage Site and a Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1986. 

 

As an area of outstanding beauty, Komodo’s N.P. status was decided upon initially as a way to preserve the unique Komodo dragons and secure further opportunities and potential alternative livelihoods for the local residents, whose roots are firmly set in fishing.

However, it is the marine environment that provides much more potential for longer term tourism. The marine area constitutes 67% of the Park. Famed for its strong currents, nutrient rich waters flow through the park from 2 oceans, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, ensuring healthy corals and therefore an abundance of marine life.

 

 You can read the complete article on Komodo Indicator species

-Wicked Diving Komodo

Komodo Liveaboard Trip - August 23, 2012

As the town of Labuan Bajo celebrated Eid el Fitr, the end of Ramandan, a festive, sleepy feel descended upon us, but not for the Jaya and its crew, who welcomed 5 new guests to join the 7 returning guests for the 24^th trip of the Komodo season.

Andreas, Daniela, Mitch, Tara, Ryan, Yuet and Victor all returned after the 3 day manta education trip and were joined by guests Andreas, Nick, Sze Lynn, Owain and Tina; instructors Jo, Scott, Vinnty and crew Cap’n Surafudi, Heri, Marwan, Dullah, Sulaman, Joss and Adry.

As with anywhere in the world, holiday periods see towns slow down, people eating more, more time spent with the family and less time at work. The end of Ramadan was no different in LBJ. This presented a couple of hurdles for the Wicked team in ensuring we had the necessary supplies for our trip, but as always our imaginative and hard working crew pulled it off.

One stumbling block presented was the availability of fresh water for the trip. There were numerous options, all of which would possibly take longer than preferred, so while the crew deliberated on how we would keep our guests clean, we headed to the islands of Bidadari for sunset snorkelling with cuttlefish and juvenile batfish and hoisting sail to display the full beauty of the Jaya. As with all industries it pays to have friends in many places and our tireless crew negotiated a water fill with nearby liveaboard. When satisfied we had the necessary supplies we set of on course for Sabayor for our morning check dive.

Eid el Fitr’s date is decided by the appearance of the new moon, so while the end of Ramadan was significant above the water, below the water there were possible implications too. Around new and full moons, tidal changes increase and the water in the Komodo national park can behave quite differently, particularly in relation to the currents. Currents can become stronger, with less time between slack tides and the change between rising and falling tides and water temperatures can drop too. This is great in terms of marine life, flooding the dive sites with nutrient rich waters, but it means that we have to be extra vigilant regarding the safety of our guests. Dive sites are carefully selected and checked to ensure suitability for all level of divers on board. In addition, the best action for us is to give all divers detailed briefings help them know what to expect and how we dive in these currents.

After our check dive we headed to the north of the National Park to dive The Passage. This is great drift dive between Komodo and Gili Lawa Darat and we had a fantastic drift through the passage encountering black tip and white tips sharks, turtles, schools of batfish and bumphead parrotfish en route. The next dive of the day was at pinnacle dive site, Castle Rock. The current was relatively strong, bringing out the giant trevally, dogtooth tuna, huge naoplean wrasse and many white tips cruising around.

That evening the guys headed to Gili Lawa Laut for a sunset walk to the view point, led by Vinnty. They were rewarded with views of the many islands in the park and sunset over the volcanic island of Sangeang. Games were the theme of the night, from Rummikub to a mime, team game, called Celebrity, which brought out the amateur dramatists onboard.

The next day started at dive site, the Cauldron, where divers saw mantas, sharks and turtles, not to mention huge amounts of trevally, surgeonfish and sweetlips in the area we call ‘the fish bowl’. Crystal Rock was the next choice with a fairly easy and relaxed dive on near slack tide. All divers saw bargabanti pygmy seahorses, on a small sea fan which is the home for 3 of these tiny creatures, in addition to the normal pelagics and schooling fish which patrol this site.

We then headed over to check out Karang Makassar where we spotted mantas on the surface. Snorkel time commenced and chef’s assistant, Dullah, was first to jump in, leading everyone to these huge, graceful beasts. After seeing mantas, divers voted to get underwater here for the opportunity of more sightings. We jumped on the rising tide and drifted north where we were lucky to be greeted by mantas.

After the dive we travelled to Wainilu near the island of Rinca. Dolphins were also heading that direction and we were escorted by a small pod, playing in the bow waves. When we arrived, everyone was given an intro to muck diving briefing. Wainilu is a top class muck dive site which introduces people to the weird and wonderful world of muck diving. Among the critters sighted were numerous Papuan and stumpy spine cuttlefish, 2 painted frogfish and 1 giant frogfish, a starry night octopus, ornate ghost pipefish, many nudis and flatworms of different shapes and colours, crustaceans aplenty, an unusual blue decorator crab and the very rare and extremely beautiful boxer crab!!

That evening, everyone pored over the books and chatted about what they’d seen in this bizarre and mucky place. Mitch shared some of his photos with the group and has been kind enough to provide some to illustrate this post.

The final day took in a dive at Tengah Kecil where divers saw leaf fish, orangutan crabs, sponge snails, turtles, schools of batfish and water temperature dropped to a gasp inducing 24 C in places! To warm up, the final stop was a trek around Rinca in search of dragons. Not to disappoint, the dragons displayed their ferocious selves to our guests and they were even treated to a wild water buffalo on the trek.

-Wicked Diving Komodo

Komodo Liveaboard trip - July 16th, 2012

The next 3 day Jaya adventure departed from Labuan Bajo harbour to balmy weather with returning guests Rob, Chris, Jennie, Finn, Nick, Alamin, Lars,  Oddmund, Eimar and David and new guests Omar and Rich. Instructors Jo, Vinnty, Diego and DMTs Linda, Stefano and Calle were also aboard, ready for adventure in the Komodo national park.

The first night started with a stunning sunset and snorkel at Sebayor Island and the diving schedule started the next day. We dived first at Tatawa Besar and then at little sister, Tatawa Kecil followed by a final dive of the day at Batu Bolong. The next dives on the trip took in Karang Makassar, Crystal Rock, Castle Rock with a night muck dive at Wainilu on the last evening of the trip.

Marine life was diverse as always and creatures big and small wowed the divers from an all black manta, white tips, black tips, bumpheads, giant trevally, tuna, hawksbill and green turtles, and an eagle ray, to the tiniest of tiny pygmy seahorse (bargabanti hippocampus) and many strange critters on the night dive like flounders, flying gurnards, papuan cuttlefish. Vinnty even found 3 frogfish on one dive – good eyes Vinnty.

There were many causes for celebration on this Komodo Liveaboard. Chris celebrated his birthday on the third night and super cook Joss whipped him up a birthday cake to make it special. In fact most of the day, divers could be found humming Stevie Wonder’s ‘Happy Birthday’ both above and below the water and Chris even blew out his pretend birthday candles underwater. Congratulations Chris, glad we could share it with you.

In addition, eager students, Rich and Oddmund, both became advanced divers on the trip and spent evenings and dives learning about deep diving, fish identification and many other topics.

Diego introduced the team to the role-play murder game ‘Werewolf’ on the second evening and many a lynching ensued as villagers tried to rid the werewolves from the town of ‘Chihuahua’. Unfortunately this time the werewolves conquered. On the final night of the trip, Eimear introduced a simple word association game with few rules, such as you cannot use words beginning with the letters C and S. It seemed very simple, but everyone slipped up frequently, causing many giggles. Rich deserves a special mention for being unable to pick words without Cs and Ss. Thanks Rich!

Wicked Diving Komodo

Giant Moray Eels

Below is an excerpt from our marine life page on Giant Moray eels.

The giant moray (Gymnothorax javanicus) is in terms of body mass the largest of the moray eel species, from the family Muraenidae.

General Description
As the name suggests, this is a large eel, reaching up to 3 metres in length and 30 kilograms in weight. While juveniles are tan in colour with large black spots, adults have black specks that grade into leopard-like spots behind the head and a black area surrounding the gill opening, there is a greenish base colour with dark speckling, and a more pale area around the face. In some species, the inside of the mouth is also patterned.
The body is long and heavy set but despite this is very flexible and moves with ease.
The dorsal fin extends from just behind the head along the back and joins seamlessly with the caudal and anal fins. Most species lack pectoral and pelvic fins, adding to their serpentine appearance. Their eyes are rather small so giant moray eels tend to rely on their highly developed sense of smell, lying in wait to ambush their prey.


Where to find the Giant Moray Eel
Giant moray eels are found worldwide in tropical and temperate seas, particularly in relatively shallow water among reefs and rocks, in lagoons and seaward reefs, as well as in estuarine areas.
This immense moray hides in reef interstices, under ledges and in caves on reef walls and they live at depths of up to several hundred metres.
We encounter Giant Morays on many of our trips, but they are particularly common on dives done form our Similan Liveaboard trips


Similan Diving is Wicked Diving!

Saltwater Crocodiles and Wicked Diving

Below is an excerpt from our page on "Salties" in our Marine Life section.

The saltwater crocodile, (Crocodylus porosus), also known as the Estuarine or Indo-Pacific crocodile, is the largest of all living reptiles.

General Description
An adult male saltwater crocodile's weight on average is 409 to 1,000 kilograms and length is normally 4.1 to 5.5 metres. However, mature males have been known to exceed 6 metres and weigh more than 1,000 kilograms, and this species is the only extant crocodilian to regularly reach or exceed 4.8 metres. Weight can vary enormously based upon the condition and age; older males tend to outweigh younger ones since they maintain prime territories with access to better, more abundant prey. This species has the greatest sexual dimorphism of any modern crocodilian, with the females being much smaller than males. Typical female body lengths range from 2.3 to 3.5 metres. The largest female on record measured about 4.2 metres. The mean weight of the species as a whole is roughly 450 kilograms.

Wicked Diving does not encounter crocodiles at our dive sites, though they are known to inhabit water around our Komodo Dive center

Olive Ridley Turtles

Below is a blurb from our website on one of the turtle species we experience on our travels.

Olive ridley sea turtles, Lepidochelys olivacea (Eschscholtz, 1829), aka Pacific ridleys, are small, hard-shelled marine turtles, one of the two species of the genus Lepidochelys, and a member of the Family Cheloniidae. It is closely related to the Kemp’s ridley, with the primary distinction being that olive ridleys are found only in warmer waters The olive ridley sea turtle was named after H.N Ridley FRS, who was on the island of Fernando de Noronha, and in Brazil in 1887.

General Description
The olive ridley gets its name from the olive coloration of its heart-shaped top shell (carapace) and is one of the worlds smallest of the sea turtles, with adults reaching up to 60 centimetres in length and weighing anything from 36 to 49 kilograms. The species may be identified by the uniquely high and variable numbers of vertebral and costal scutes along its carapace which is bony, without ridges and has large scutes (scales). In addition, the vertebral scutes also show frequent division, as do the scales on the dorsal surface of the head. The prefrontal scales, however, usually number two pairs.


We experience thee, though not frequently on our Similan Liveaboard trips

Wicked Diving, Khao Lak

Spinner Dolphins

Here is an excerpt from our article on Spinner Dolphins on the website. We encounter these in several places, but most particularly on our expeditions.

Spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) derive their name from a habit of leaping from the water and warping their bodies into graceful curves, or spinning lengthwise before splashing back. The motives for this behavior are not known but such actions are often in themselves enough to distinguish this species.

Common names for the geographic varieties of Stenella longirostris include: the Costa Rican, Eastern, Whitebelly, and Hawaiian or Gray's dolphins. A dwarfed form of this species is found in the Gulf of Thailand.

General Description

Like other dolphins of the genus Stenella, spinner dolphins are relatively small, reaching lengths of up to 2 metres and weighing approximately 59-77 kilograms at maturity. They have long, slender snouts or beaks that are black above and white below.

Coloration is dark gray dorsally fading to lighter gray on the sides and the belly is white. A dark stripe extends from the flipper to the eye.

Wicked Diving

Indian Ocean Walkmen

Below is an excerpt from our page on Walkmen. We encounter these frequently on Muck dives in Komodo and very occasionally on our Similan Liveaboard

The indian ocean walkman (Inimicus didactylus) also known as the Demon Stinger fish, Scorpion fish, Devil Stinger fish, Bearded Ghoul is a member of the Inimicus genus of venomous fishes, closely related to the true stonefishes.
It is irregularly surfaced with spines and a knobby appearance. The fish has venomous spines to ward off enemies.

General Description
Adults can attain a body length of up to 26 centimeters in length. The body color is red or sandy yellow with light blotches, and very similar to that of the surrounding sandy or coral seabed in which they are found. This coloration acts as a camouflage which renders them extremely difficult to detect in their natural habitat. The skin is without scales except along the lateral line, and is covered with venomous spines and wart-like glands which give it a knobby appearance. The head is flattened, depressed and concave. The eyes, mouth and nostrils project upwards and outwards from the dorsal aspect of the head. Sexual dimorphism is not believed to occur in this species.
The species has a depressed head that is strongly concave on the dorsal side. The head is also covered with flaps of skin and raised ridges, and tentacles are present on the head, trunk, and fins. Its mouth points up almost vertically, and its eyes protrude visibly outwards. A raised knob at the end of its snout gives it the appearance of having an upturned nose.

Wicked Diving

Robust Ghost Pipefish

While many divers are keen on seeing the large pelagics, there are many of us who are keen on the small things. With patience and good eyes, there are many, many rewarding species to be found. One of the most fascinating are the pipefish family. Robust Ghost Pipefish are very hard to spot and typically in the very shallow areas. It is only with dawning awe that many a guest has realized that what we are pointing out is not a dead leaf but a living fish!

Robust ghost pipefish also better known as False Pipefish, Tube mouth Fish, Blue-Finned Ghost Pipefish, Squaretail Ghost Pipefish and Seagrass Ghost Pipefish are in fact not members of the Pipefish family, but are closely related to the Pipefish and Sea Horse family, which is perhaps why the Robust Ghost Pipefish while having the long tube-like snout taking up 1/3 of its size is similar to the pipefish, and its body covered with external plates makes its appearance and size more like a seahorse.

With their incredible ability to mimic their surroundings and their tiny size, it is not surprising that these spectacular critters are seldom spotted by divers. Robust ghost pipefishes are masters of disguise. In fact they may have some of the best disguises in the sea but when viewed, they are one of the oceans most beautiful creatures!

General Description

Robust ghost pipefish are closely related to Seahorses, but unlike Seahorses, male robust ghost pipefish do not have a pouch in which the young are reared. Instead the female has the pouch and has to look after the eggs.

Robust ghost pipefishes are also different to seahorses in several other ways. A robust ghost pipefish’s head is held at an angle to the body, but not at such a large angle as that of the seahorse. Robust ghost pipefishes have two dorsal fins whereas a seahorse only has one.

Colour varies from place to place blending in with surroundings ranging from Green to brown.

In certain habitats, like among rocks and macroalgae, they assume a blotched color pattern.

Komodo Diving

Marine Life - Eagle Rays

We get to see many amazing creatures on our trips. Rays are one of the ones that seem so foreign and exotic. Eagle rays, however have a very cute face (when seen from the front) and seem quite curious.

We are fortunate enough to encounter these in both our Thailand and Komodo dive centers.

The eagle rays are a group of cartilaginous fish that are part of the family of Myliobatidae. Eagle rays are basically large species of rays that unlike many ray species, tend to live in the open ocean rather than on the bottom of the sea.

The Genus name of this type of fish is Aetobatus which is a word derived from the Greek meaning eagle (aetos) and ray (batis).

General Description

The eagle ray has a very long tail and a well defined body that ranges from 48 centimetres to 9 meters in length.  They have inky blue bodies and a long tail that can reach up to 5 meters in length. The eagle ray also has a very angular disc and a long broad snout rounded like a duck's bill, with a “v” shaped flap.

It has a pectoral disc with sharply curved, angular corners, and no caudal fin; their jaws contain a single row of flat, chevron-shaped teeth. Each tooth is a crescent-shaped plate joined into a band.

The eagle ray swims by moving its two wings vertically - sometimes they break the surface of the sea and give the impression of two sharks traveling together. The eagle ray can also jump out and across the surface of the water.

Wicked Diving

Melibe's - What are they?

Why are we so fascinated with these things?

Here is some information on our new Melibe page on the website


Eating
To feed, a melibe firmly attaches itself to a kelp blade and then sweeps its raised hood downward or to the side. When food lands on the lower surface of the hood, themelibe sweeps together the two sides of the hood, and its fringing tentacles lock in the prey. The hood contracts to force the captured food into the melibe’s mouth.
Prey include amphipods, copepods, mysids, other small crustaceans, small mollusks, small jellyfish and ctenophores, larvae of other invertebrates and occasionally small fish.

Reproduction
Melibe are hermaphrodites (they have both male and female sexual organs), and fertilization occurs internally. The animal can lay as many as 30,000 eggs, which are enclosed in a long, gelatinous yellow or cream-colored ribbons which form tight coils or wavy folds.

Where to Find Melibe
The melibe is usually found on eelgrass and other seaweeds near low tide and below, and in kelp forest in deeper water.

While we have yet to encounter one of these in Thailand - we do find encounter them in the sea grasses found near our Komodo Dive center.

Marine Life - Ornate Ghost Pipefish

Many of you know that here at Wicked Diving we are passionate about all the creatures we encounter in the seas...but a few of us geek out on the species we find in the macro rather than the larger species. Ornate Ghost Pipefish are masters of disguise and really take some searching to find. But once you do...they are amazing!


The ornate ghost pipefish (Solenostomus paradoxus) occasionally known as the harlequin ghost pipefish, is a pipefish of the family Solenostomidae frequently found along reef edges prone to strong currents.
The ornate ghost pipefish is one of the hardest fish to spot in the ocean.  First of all they are relatively small, only growing to about 12 centimetres in maximum length. This combined with the fact that their bodies look more like coral or seaweed than an actual saltwater fish, makes them a master of camouflage!

General Description
The ornate ghost pipefish can be recognised by its distinctive body form with slender appendages on the body and fins. It has deeply incised membranes in the dorsal, caudal and ventral fins.
Its colour varies from almost totally black to semi-transparent with red, yellow, and white scribbling, spots and blotches and they can reach a maximum length of 12 centimetres.
These pipefish are different to seahorses in several ways. The head is held at an angle to the body, but not at such a large angle as that of the seahorse. One also finds that they have two dorsal fins whereas a seahorse only has one. In addition, the ghost pipefishes do not have a pouch in which the young are reared, instead the female looks after the eggs in a pouch formed by her modified ventral fins. These fins are greatly expanded and united with the abdomen along the upper margin and together below for a brood pouch.
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Come with us and Dive Komodo National Park :)

Wicked Diving Marine Life - Napolean Wrasse

Due to some frequent encounters lately - The following is taken from our Napolean Wrasse page

Napoleon Wrasses are also known as napoleon fish, maori wrasse, or “so mei” (in Cantonese), “mameng” (in Filipno) or is simply referred to as the napoleon fish.
It is one of the largest reef fishes in the world and is the largest member of the wrasse family.

General Description
The napoleon wrasse is instantly recognisable by its size, colour and shape. They can grow up to 230 cm and weigh 190 kg. They have thick fleshy lips and a hump over the head that is similar to a napoleon hat. The hump becomes more pronounced with age.
Colours vary with age and sex. Males range from a bright electric blue to green, a or purplish blue. Mature males develop a black stripe along the sides, blue spots on their body scales, and blue scribbles on the head. Juveniles can be identified by their pale greenish color and 2 black lines running behind the eye. Females, both old and young, are red-orange on the upper parts of their bodies and red-orange to white below.
Maori wrasse, like all other wrasses, have protrusible mouths, with separate jaw teeth that jut outward.
Napoleon wrasses are hermaphrodites, with some members of the population becoming male at approximately 9 years old. The females tend to live longer on average, about some 30 years, while the males only last about 25 years.
Napoleon wrasses spend most of their time feeding during the day. Adults are usually solitary, spending the day roaming the reef and returning to particular caves or ledges to rest at night.
In some areas they are very inquisitive, but in others where they are hunted they are very shy.

These are common visitors on our Komodo Liveaboard trips. Come join us see them in person!

-Wicked Diving Komodo