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The Indonesia Marine RAP discovered four new fish species during its survey of the Rajat Ampat Islands.

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Marine RAP Survey of the Raja Ampat Islands

Papua Province, Indonesia
26 March-11 April 2001

The 2001 Survey Area

The survey area covered approximately 6,000 square kilometers encompassing reefs of the Dampier Strait between northern Batanta and Waigeo. The area also included the Fam and Batang Pele Island groups, the westernmost tip of Waigeo, including Alyui Bay, as well as Kawe and the Wayag Islands, lying a short distance to the northwest of Waigeo. The 45 survey sites were reached by motor boats, operating from base camps at Kri Island and Alyui Bay.

Raja Ampat Islands - World Center for Marine Biodiversity?

The gazetted wildlife reserve (cagar alam) covers much of this area, but there remains a critical need for biological surveys. Delegates at the January 1997 Conservation Priority-Setting Workshop on Biak unanimously agreed that the Raja Ampats are a high-priority area for future RAP surveys, both terrestrial and marine. The area was also identified as the number one survey priority in Southeast Asia at CI's Marine RAP Workshop in Townsville, Australia in May 1998. Due to its location near the heart of the "Coral Triangle" (the world's richest area for coral reefs encompassing N. Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Papua New Guinea) the area is potentially the world's richest in terms of its amazing diversity of marine habitats and vast marine biodiversity.

Rajat Islands Survey Results

Preliminary results indicate that the area harbors an extraordinary wealth of marine biodiversity. The coral and fish faunas are particularly rich with perhaps the greatest number of species of any place in the world.

Following are the significant biological results:

450 species of hard corals (more than half of the world's total species)
4 new fish species
7 new coral species
600 mollusc species
950 species of reef fishes recorded (over 1,100 species predicted)
Highest number (283) of fishes visually recorded during a single dive in the Indo-Pacific

Related news links

Indonesian reefs excite scientists
BBC News, 15 May 2002

Coral Reef Paradise Found in Remote Indonesian Islands
National Geographic News, 08 August 2001


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