130 Travel | Kaimana
We ’ ll spend nearly two hours diving and snorkelling around the bagan – eventually , the dolphins are replaced by a marauding school of giant trevally .
Underneath the bagan , Triton Bay is absolutely alive with activity . Divers and snorkellers are viewing the action from the surface , while a pod of dolphins has appeared below to pick up the morsels of fish missed by the sharks .
Joining Pinneng and shipmate Tania at seven metres , I can hear the eerie dolphin song as these beloved marine mammals dance and glide playfully past . With my camera memory card filling up fast , it ’ s almost impossible to take in everything that ’ s happening here .
We ’ ll spend nearly two hours diving and snorkelling around the bagan – eventually , the dolphins are replaced by a marauding school of giant trevally . It ’ s incredible to think that we ’ ve seen more before breakfast than many scuba divers can hope to see in a lifetime .
And although Triton Bay may not be as recognised as nearby Cenderawasih Bay for whale shark encounters , scientists believe there is a year-round population of gentle giants present throughout the Bird ’ s Head Seascape . “ We ’ ve identified 28 sharks in Triton Bay and around 120 animals in Cenderawasih , all but five of them sub-adult males ,” says CI ’ s Abraham Sianipar . “ Just a few weeks ago , we satellite-tagged our first female whale shark from Kaimana , which we named in honour of the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries , Susi Pudjiastuti . Citizen scientists can now track ‘ Susi ’ along with other sharks using the CI Whale Shark Tracker App ,” adds Sianipar .
Data from another tagged whale shark from Cenderawasih tracked the animal making quite a journey . “ One of our whale sharks , Kodo , a four-metre male , travelled all the way to the east coast of the Philippines before coming back to Raja Ampat , then Kaimana , making a quick visit to the Gulf of Carpentaria in Australia , and finally ending up in Merauke [ in Papua ], where the tag ran out of battery ,” Sianipar explains .
Since tracking began in 2015 , CI scientists have gained new insights . “ We ’ ve found that , while some animals have migrated for long distances , most of them actually stay put in their respective territories for most or all of the year ,” says Sianipar . This valuable information is being used by the Kaimana Regency Government to design a responsible whale shark-based ecotourism programme .
With other whale shark hotspots around the world becoming popular for ecotourism – Time magazine once named Donsol in the Philippines as ‘ The Best Animal Encounter in Asia ’ – conservationists and local communities across the Bird ’ s Head Seascape are hoping that the protection of these iconic animals will lead to the development of new sustainable tourism destinations in Indonesia .
Judging by our amazing cruise across Kaimana and Triton Bay , it won ’ t be long before this incredible ecosystem is as well-known as its neighbours to the north .
Exploring the emerald coastline of Kaimana and West Papua on Sequoia .