Rabu, 03 Februari 2010

Muck diving at Gilimanuk

Banggai cardinalfish

Gilimanuk Bay, a three and a half hour drive from Denpasar, Bali, was made popular in the early 90s by a Japanese underwater photographer who owned a dive center in Bali. Thanks to his underwater photos, many Japanese divers made the journey to go diving at Gilimanuk Bay, an area which teems with unusual marine life such as snake eels, fingered dragonet, mimic octopus, pegasus, frogfish and many other species. This location became so popular in Japan that a major Japanese television network produced a documentary on the mimic octopus in Gilimanuk Bay.

Most tourists stay in the Pemuteran area, around 30 km east of Gilimanuk. They are attracted by the “muck diving” – a type of diving in which divers have to discover the hidden marine life by probing in submerged trash and mud, sand, and dead coral.

Diving at Gilimanuk Bay is very easy. You can park right in front of the dive site, unload your gear, prepare for your dive and head directly into the shallow water. Conditions in the bay are relatively calm. If there is a current, it’s usually very weak. Dive depths range from one to eight meters. If you go diving between June and October, the water is rather chilly – as low as 23 degrees Celsius. When diving here, it’s recommended to use an underwater compass and have good underwater navigational knowledge. The relatively flat sea bed and vast expanses of sand can lead to disorientation.

Once you are in the water, look out for movements in the sandy seabed, among the trash or near the coral reefs. These small movements may signal the presence of hidden marine life. There are extensive clusters of sea urchins, so watch out for their sharp spikes. Among the sea urchins, you’re likely to see Banggai cardinalfish, which are not actually native to Gilimanuk Bay.

Banggai cardinalfish

The Banggai cardinalfish is endemic to the waters of the Banggai islands off Sulawesi and is very popular with aquarium enthusiasts. Some of the fish that were caught could not be sold locally to aquarium customers due to their relatively poor quality and these fish were returned to the sea at Gilimanuk Bay, leading to the invasion of Banggai cardinalfish here.
Exploring the sea bed in the bay, you will find many coral reefs, both natural and artificial. As well as the Banggai cardinal, you have the chance to see unusual species including frogfish and ghost pipefish and in the sand you can find snake eels.

Also to be seen here is the “elephant trunk sea snake”. When I dived here in 1999, we saw this sea snake, which at the time was still referred to simply as “unidentified sea snake”. The unusual feature of this sea snake is its nose, which typically has two small bulges of air.

Apart from Gilimanuk Bay, another well-known muck diving location is Puri Jati, a beach at Seririt village, around 10 km west of Lovina.

As at Gilimanuk, diving is done through “beach entry”; you simply walk in from the beach and proceed to the depths, ranging from one meter near shore to up to 30 meters further out. Here too, disorientation is a major concern, as there are so few natural references. One special feature of this site is the many species of flabellum coral, at both shallow and greater depths. These round corals, with a diameter of one to two cm, look like buttons spread out on the sandy seabed.

Banggai cardinalfish

The area is also home to many species of octopus, especially the mimic octopus. Although the mimic octopus is also found at Gilimanuk Bay, you’ll have a much greater chance of sighting it at Puri Jati. Other unusual octopus species here include the coconut octopus and the blue ring octopus. The coconut octopus favors dwelling in various types of cavities. Don’t be surprised if you encounter an octopus living in a shell. The blue ring octopus is small and quite beautiful. It displays blue rings on its skin when it is under stress which become even more prominent when the octopus feels threatened. Although they are small (around 3–7 cm), these octopuses are among the most venomous creatures in the sea. The venom in their saliva can kill an adult human. So if you see these creatures, approach them slowly and don’t get them too excited, and you’ll be able to witness their amusing behavior. Never try to touch one.

Following the popularity of Gilimanuk Bay on the western end of the island and Puri Jati on the north coast, the latest muck diving location in Bali is at Seraya. Seraya is located at the eastern end of Bali, around 3 km east of Tulamben, one of Bali’s best known diving locations.

Banggai cardinalfish

What makes this location special is the population of rare and unusual shrimp species. If you’re lucky (and this is likely), you will find various types of shrimp living in symbiosis with crinoids (sea lilies). The shrimp are usually the same color as the crinoid that is their host. You should stop at each crinoid and examine it carefully; be careful with the tentacles, which break off easily and can cause itching. Don’t touch the crinoids directly with your hand; use a small stick and touch it gently.

One species to especially watch for at Seraya is the harlequin shrimp, which eats starfish and often lives in pairs. This species is fairly easy to photograph, even with a simple digital camera.

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