Mantehage Island,the Other Side of Bunaken Island Natisional Park Area.

Mantehage Island,Other sides of Bunaken island Marine nasional park

Bunaken National Park extends over an area of 890.65 km² of which only 3% is terrestrial, including Bunaken Island, as well as the islands of Manado Tua, Mantehage, Nain and Siladen,The waters of Bunaken National Marine Park are up to 1,566 m deep in Manado Bay, with temperatures ranging between 27 to 29 °C. It has a high diversity of - corals, fish, echinoderms or sponges. Notably, 7 of the 8 species of giant clams that occur in the world, occur in Bunaken. It also claims to have seven times more genera of coral than Hawaii, and has more than 70% of all the known fish species of the Indo-Western Pacific.

Oceanic currents may explain, in part, why Bunaken National Marine Park has such a high level of biodiversity. Northeasternly currents generally sweep through the park but abundant counter currents and gyros related to lunar cycles are believed to be a trap for free swimming larvae. This is particularly true on the south side of the crescent-shaped Bunaken Island, lying in the heart of the park. A snorkeler or diver in the vicinity of Lekuan or Fukui may spot over 33 species of butterfly fish and numerous types of groupers, damsels, wrasses and gobies. The gobies, smallish fish with bulging eyes and modified fins that allow them to attach to hard surfaces, are the most diverse but least known group of fish in the park.

Based on Geology, North Sulawesi is considered to be a 'young' formation, of 5-24 million years of age. The region has undergone explosive volcanism 1.5-5 million years ago, which resulted in the volcanic tuff that characterizes the existing topography. Manado Tua is an inactive volcano formed in a classical cone shape and rising over 600 m above sea level, the highest elevation in the park. Bunaken Island also has volcanic origins with a significant amount of uplifted fossil coral. Nain Island is also a dome-shaped island, 139m in height. Mantehage Island is relatively flat and seems to be sinking into the sea. The island has extensive mangrove forest flats, partially separated by saltwater channels. Siladen is a low-lying coral sand island with no significant topography. Arakan-Wawontulap and Molas-Wori on the mainland of North Sulawesi are relatively flat areas at the base of volcanic hills. The absence of a continental shelf allows the coastal area of the park to drop directly down the continental slope. The sea depth between the islands of the park is 200 to 1,840 metres.(source: northsulawesi-tourism).

Nain Island,Bunaken Island Nasional Marine Park Area

Nain Island,Bunaken Island Nasional Marine park Area.
Location: Off the northeastern coast of Montehage,Normal most island from Bunaken.
Access: 100 min by dive boat from most dive resorts.
Conditions: Very strong current
Average depth: 30m
Maximum depth: 80m
Nain Island is the northernmost island in the Bunaken National Marine Park and has about 3 dive spots near it. This site is strictly for experienced/technical divers only. The interesting part begins only below the 40m level and caves are located beyond 60m depth. Furthermore, these dive sites are far from help in mainland. Dive guides from the resorts are often reluctant to bring divers to this site because of the dangers involved.
Having said that, the risk is often rewarded by rare sights of hammerhead sharks, huge tuna, dolphins and pilot whales.
Nain Island is one of the islands in the site of Bunaken Marine Park. Just like any other islands such as Siladen, Mantehage, Manado Tua and Bunaken, the island has an amazing panorama. It is not only the panorama which attracts tourists to visit the island but also its biodiversity. You can find various species of fish and sea creatures in the island. The island has incredible topography of both the sea and the land. Hence, when you visit the island, it’s not only marine activities you can do but also activities on land. You will have an exciting experience when visiting the island, especially when your best friends or family accompany your travel to the island.Nain Island is located off the northeastern coast of Montehage Island, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The most northern island in the Bunaken Marine Park Site is Montehage. Hence, Nain is near the northern part of the Bunaken Marine Park Site. To reach the island, you can start from Manado. From wherever you are, you can fly to Manado first. Then you can travel by boat or charter a private boat to Nain Island. You better prepare yourself when visiting the island. You should prepare equipment to do your activity and enough food. The island is not as popular as Bunaken or Siladen. Thus, it is quite more difficult to find comfortable accommodations in this island.
Activities
When you come to Nain Island, you can do marine activities. The most interesting marine activity is diving. The current of the sea in this island is very strong. While, the average depth of the sea is 30 m and the maximum depth is 80 m. Such depth and current are suitable for professional divers. If you are an amateur diver, you should not dive alone. You should take a guide with you. Ask him or her to lead your diving activity. While diving, you can record the beautiful fish and other creatures swimming around you. There are some prominent species such as barracudas or groupers. If you are lucky, you can find more unique species like hammerheads and jack fish. They are lovely species. Record the fish when they swim or line in its schools. The record will become the most amazing video from your marine adventure in this island.
Accommodations
It is better for you to plan your accommodations first before you go to Nain Island. The island doesn’t have facilities as complete as popular islands like Bunaken or Siladen. Hence, you can plan to stay in one of the islands. Otherwise, you can stay in one of the local people’s houses in the island. Many local people provide home-stays for visitors who spend their night in this island. You can enjoy comfortable lodges provided by the local people. You can even interact with them and get more knowledge about the custom and traditional culture of the local people.
Visiting Nain Island offers you a challenging adventure as the island is not as popular as other islands. It doesn’t have complete facilities like Bunaken or Siladen. However, your journey will not be wasted as the island has the same beauty as those two islands.(source:manadonow & picnicindonesia.com)

Manado tua Island & Manado tua Volcano,Bunaken Island Marine Nasional Park

Manado Tua or Old Manado island, together with the islands of Bunaken, Siladen, Mantehage and Nain form the Bunaken-Manado Tua Marine National Park. The Park lies just off shore from the city of Manado, capital of the province of North Sulawesi, site of the first World Ocean Conference 2009 which held in May. Covering a total of 89,065 hectares, the Bunaken-Manado Tua park is among the most spectacular dive sites in the world.
The islands are separated from the mainland by a submarine trench that reaches a depth of 1,200 meters, and keeps these waters relatively free from city garbage and silt. The reserve is protected by law from spearfishing and coral or fish-collecting, as well as from dynamite fishing.
Only one hour by motor boat from Manado town, the island of Manado Tua is distinguished by the majestic perfect cone of the extinct volcano that formed the island, which is capped with a rainforest on its summit. Around the island are underwater plateaus sloping from 5 meters to 30 meters, fringed by vertical coral walls plunging 25 to 50 meters down, and large caves with hanging coral reefs: a truly amazing sea garden. Next to Manado Tua is the more well-known island of Bunaken,Manado Tua Island is a towering extinct volcano fringed with picturesque reef drop-offs and capped with a rainforest at its summit. The island’s 3,200 inhabitants form a very tightly-knit community of farmers and fishermen who cling tenaciously to their Sangir cultural traditions. Large sections of Manado Tua’s coral reef have been reduced to rubble fields due to blast fishing activities that took place over a decade ago. With Seacology’s assistance, Manado Tua villagers have installed EcoReef modules, snowflake-shaped ceramic modules that are designed to mimic branching corals, providing shelter to fish and a surface for larval corals to build a new reef. In return, villagers have expanded their current “no-take” reef zones to include five acres of reef containing the EcoReef modules. USAID’s Natural Resources Management Project and dive operators from the North Sulawesi Watersports Association did all the coordination and installation of EcoReefs for this project.
(source:seacology.org,indonesiatravel.com)

Siladen Island,bunaken Island Nasional marine park Area

Bunaken National Marine Park.North Sulawesi offers unparalleled marine biodiversity, with a wide range of dive experience options. The Bunaken National Park is a marine park in the north of Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. The park is located near the centre of the Coral Triangle, providing habitat to 390 species of coral as well as many fish, mollusks, reptile and marine mammal species. The Park is representative of Indonesian tropical water ecosystems, consisting of seagrass plain, extensive coral reefs, and coastal ecosystems. It was established as a National Park in 1991 and is among the first of Indonesia's growing system of marine parks. It covers a total area of 890.65 km², 97% of which is marine habitat. The remaining 3% of the park is terrestrial, including the five islands of Bunaken, Manado Tua, Mantehage, Nain and Siladen.

COELACANTH History in Africa (komoro Island)

Many years, but life today poses numerous challenges for the West Indian Ocean coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae), the “living fossil” fish that was famously rediscovered off the coast of South Africa in 1938. The few areas in which the fish still swim face destruction from new port construction while the coelacanths themselves risk being caught up in fishing nets intended for sharks. Even climate change poses a new risk for the species.
The coelacanth already has a few protections in place—trade is banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, for example—but now one more safeguard may soon be available. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposed this week that coelacanths be listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The proposal wouldn’t cover all coelacanths. Instead it would only add protection for the fish that live off the coast of Tanzania, where a genetically distinct population faces the greatest threats. The populations that live near the Comoro Islands and South Africa would not gain additional protection, nor would the separate coelacanth species that lives in Indonesian waters.
No one knows exactly how many coelacanths still live in the Indian Ocean but a 1994 survey estimated the population at between 230 and 650 fish.
According to data collected by the NMFS, the coelacanths living in the waters around the Comoro Islands and South Africa have an abundance of deepwater caves that help to keep them safe. Tanzania is a different story. The water there lacks caves; instead it has rocky terraces in somewhat shallower locations than in the other two sites. According to information presented in the Federal Register this week, this leaves the Tanzanian coelacanths less protected. At least 19 of the two-meter-long fish have been accidentally caught in fishermen’s nets around Tanzania’s coral reefs in the past decade.
Ironically enough, the planned new ports in Tanzania would be built in the newly established Tanga Coelacanth Marine Park, which was named after the very species that made the area unique. Construction would require submarine blasting and dredging and certainly destroy known coelacanth habitat. The NMFS estimated that the port “would likely disrupt coelacanth habitat by direct elimination of deepwater shelters or by a large influx of siltation that would likely result in coelacanth displacement.”
ESA protection wouldn’t have legal power to stop or modify any of this construction because it would be outside of the U.S. but it would help to raise awareness of the species’s plight, says Taylor Jones, endangered species advocate for WildEarth Guardians, which petitioned to have the species protected under the ESA back in 2013. Such a listing would also authorize the U.S. to fund and assist in any conservation programs, although the NMFS proposal makes no specific plans for such.
Government action being what it is, the coelacanth still has a long wait before any potential ESA protection could kick in. Right now the public has a 60-day window to comment on the proposal (using the Federal Register link above). After that a years-long process to assess the proposal can begin. Of course the coelacanth has stuck it out for about a hundred million years, so what’s a little government bureaucracy in the meantime? (source:scainstificamerica.blog)

Bunaken Island EXplore with seeingindonesia EXplore TRavel Guide

The beuty of bunaken marine park,north sulawesi,indonesia is one the world's best diving paradise,we invite you to explore the beuty of the island of bunaken and marine park, Visit and enjoy its beuty with us_Seeingindonesia EXPLORE Travel guide.

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Mahangetang Mounth under water volcano "banua wuhu" north sulawesi,indonesia

Banua wuhu,mount Mahangetang under water Volcano,North Sulawesi,Indonesia.

Sulawesi area is included in the earth plate’s meeting area. This geographical condition had caused Sulawesi to have marvelous biological richness, including the biological richness of Sulawesi Sea. In Sulawesi watery area, you will find many remarkable under sea scenery. Various sea biota and cluster of coral reef will serve beauty and experience you will never forget.The amazing view can be found usually in the shallow water. Sulawesi is indeed has many shallow water area, because it’s also an archipelago.
This kind of scenery can also be found in sea volcano complex in North Sulawesi Sea. Around Sangihe archipelago, you can find several under sea volcano mountains. Of course, with the volcano activity, the under sea scenery will also amaze you.

Sulawesi Sea Volcano

Watery area in North Sulawesi keeps some uniqueness. Land around this area is an archipelago. Precisely in this area, there is a meeting of two gigantic earth’s plate which are Australia and Eurasia plate. Hence, in this water area can be found several volcano mountains under the sea.
Till 2010, have been recorded 5 volcano mountains in Indonesia which located under the sea. Those mountains are Hobal mountain (in Lembata island, NTT), Emperor of China and Niuwewerker mount (in Banda sea), Mahangetang and Submarin mount (in North Sulawesi sea).In 2010, was found another volcano mountain under the sea of North Sulawesi. This mountain was found unintentionally by an oceanography research. After this, there was a sequel research about the existence and ecosystem around the mountain. Since it is located in Kawio Island (Sangihe archipelago), the mountain then named West Kawio Mountain.

West Kawio Mountain located inside Sangihe Sea, where the depth can reach to 5100 m from sea level. West Kawio Mountain itself has height around 3200 m, which the top of it is located approximately 1900 m below the sea. Some sources even mentioned that this mount is world’s highest volcano mountain.
From research result, there‘s rich ecosystem biota around West Kawio mountain and there are many solid and healthy coral reefs with various colors. So does with sea creatures, such as fish, shrimp, lobster, squid, and many others. Those creatures grow healthily and have many colors. The unique thing is the ecosystem is able to live and grow well in the sea depth with temperature till 200 °Celsius.

In height of 2000 m of the mountain, there are some kinds of smoke chimneys which expel heat (hydrothermal) from inside the mountain. Around these hot chimneys there’s also a similar ecosystem. Unfortunately, to enjoy it you have to dive using high technology submarine. But do not worry, you still can enjoy another amazing scenery of the ecosystem around Mahangetang mount.

"Banua Wuhu"

Mahangetang Mountain by local people also called as Banua Wuhu Mountain. This mount is an active volcano mount. The top of it is in 6-8 m below sea level. In this mountain top you will able to see under sea ecosystem which is really amazing.
The location of Banua Wuhu Mountain is in Mahangetang Island water area, one of islands in Sangihe archipelago, North Sulawesi. The mountain top located around 300 m southwest side of Mahangetang island, precisely at 3° 08‘ NL and 125° 26′ EL. Banua Wuhu mountain can be reached about 1 hour by sea from Tahuna city, Sangihe district or about 5 hours by sea from Manado city,At 6 m depth, you will find coral reef which expel air bubble. These bubbles are the gas which comes out from inside the mountain of Banua Wuhu mountain. In this depth, the water temperature will be a bit warm around 37°-38° Celsius. Though the coral reefs are so interesting, it’s not suggested for you to touch it, because the bubble is decrease drastically when it blend with sea water but extremely hot when it still inside the reef’s cavity. It’s suggested for you to be careful so your hand won’t get burnt.

Diving deeper, in the depth of 10-20 m, you will meet with a marvelous sea ecosystem. Clusters of coral reef are lined densely and look healthy with the various kinds of fishes and other sea creatures playing amongst the reef. This ecosystem is closely similar to ecosystem around West Kawio Mountain, where the coral reef and sea biota are so interesting with their various colors. It’s suggested for you to use complete diving equipment because the location is quite deep.
This ecosystem has been famous to foreign countries as one of world’s most beautiful under sea volcano after Caribbean archipelago,Common terms index: reef, volcanos mount under sea at sulawesi, banua wuhu mahangetang island. (sources:gocelebes.com)