Marine conservation

27 – 31 March 2010 N13 44.441 E120 53.580 The charming clownfish finds a symbolic home out of water in this quaint dive resort by the sea in Anilao, Mabini, Batangas.  Club Ocellaris is where I first entered the water with a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus and Boy Venus was there to teach and introduce […]

27 – 31 March 2010 N13 44.441 E120 53.580 The province of Batangas has more than a 30-kilometer long coastline – Balayan Bay in the west and Batangas Bay in the east. To the north is the town of Bauan, and on the south is Maricaban Strait. Known to scuba divers as Anilao, the prime […]

27 – 31 March 2010 N13 44.441 E120 53.580 Anilao Batangas was where I learned diving in 1997. I had been coming here camping on the rocks when I was still in college in the 80’s! Anilao was where Manila divers went for diving because it was closest to Manila and we all thought it […]

15 – 22 March 2010 N12 39.856 E120 53.266 – Apo Reef Club N12 39.463 E120 25.137 – Apo Reef With the expedition team complete with our writer Alya Honasan, our first Philippine journey for this leg was to Apo Reef.  We spent a few days and nights on a quaint Philippine style liveaboard named […]

8 – 28 February 2010 S0 33.344 E130 41.075 – Sorido Bay Resort All too soon, it was time to say our farewells to everyone from this lovely resort. We spent quality working time here often leaving the resort at eight in the morning and coming back, still dripping wet, at seven in the evening […]

8 – 27 February 2010 S0 33.344 E130 41.075 – Sorido Bay Resort S0 25.645 E130 33.704 – The Passage between Gam & Waigeo S0 30.920 E130 27.736 – Yambraimuk blue water mangroves While we were in North Raja Ampat, we were incredibly fortunate to have professional photographers and videographers Claudia & Leon Joubert document […]

27 February 2010 After days of grumbling about the weather, Yogi finally found his smile again. Max Ammer was bringing him along as co-pilot to his truly photogenic yellow aircraft. Conservation International needed to do regular surveys to Raja Ampat by land, sea and air. They were fortunate enough to have Max Ammer firmly situated […]

8 – 26 February If I may, I would like to lift a few bits and paragraphs written by Dr. Mark V. Erdmann, Senior Advisor Conservation International Indonesia Marine Program in his introduction of a new fantastic coffeetable book The Raja Ampat.  “Reefs on Steroids”, “The Kingdom of Coral”, “Heart of the Coral Triangle”, “The […]

8 – 25 February In 1526, Jorge de Menses, the first Portuguese governor to the Moluccan “spice islands” was swept ashore by a storm to the Bird’s Head Peninsula (West Papua) even before he reached his post. He named the country Ilhas dos Papuas (Islands of the Papuans) derived from the Malay term “orang papuwah” […]

8 – 23 February 2010 S0 34.808 E130 32.494 Manta Sandy S0 33.681 E130 32.471 Manta Slope There are very few places we know where you can find, almost guaranteed, mantas in a cleaning station. There are many cleaning stations known, yes, but few guaranteed! Depending on the number of divers underwater, i.e. if you […]