Anemone fish can still be found in the coral reef region not far from Raimuti island. This is the smallest island in the Dorey bay of Manokwari. When I went snorkeling with two Russian tourists, Alex Sokolov and Vitaliy Golovko, on 16 March 2011, we were able to see the Damselfish around 1 kilometer to the south of the Raimuti island. We went there at 4 p.m. to avoid strong sunlight that could burn our skins. At that time the waters around Arfai region and Raimuti island were calm. We saw hundreds of species of fish that live in the coral reef areas. I took some pictures of them but they were not as good as what Alex Sokolov did. One of them was an anemonefish. I think it was a Clark's Anemonefish (Amphiprion clarkii). However, this coral reef fish was similar to Sebae Anemonefish that has a white stripe at the top of rear back that goes toward its tail. Because this fish did not have the white line, so, I concluded that it was a Clark's Anemonefish. Now I can identify the names of the coral reef fish because a biologist from the United States gave me a book entitled
Reef Fish Identification - Tropical Pacific (see the book at the end of this article). This book is suitable for snorkelers and scuba divers who want to know more about the species of fish that live in the Tropical Pacific region. Before receiving this book, it's very difficult for me to identify the reef fish which consist of thousands of species.
After the Russian tourists, I went to Arfai again the next day with two Dutch tourists, Victor Dykman and Anne Bijleveld. This time we were able to see another species of anemone fish. Moisture from sea water covered the lens of my watercasing. That's why I could not take the underwater picture of this famous Nemo fish. Anemonefish is small fish that live among the anemone. It is often called clown fish but children like to call it Nemo fish after the famous animated movie
Finding Nemo which is distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.
As a travel writer, I have been promoting the waters around Arfai region and Raimuti island as an alternative destination for tourists who want to see the beauty of the underwater world of coral reef in affordable price.
Snorkeling in Raimuti island is much cheaper than scuba diving in places that have been commercialized with the construction of numerous diving resorts. If you plan to visit Manokwari city this year and want to do some snorkelings, you can contact me via email:
charlesroring@gmail.com. I will be happy to arrange your trip and guide you to this beautiful marine environment of West Papua. Also read:
Coral Reef Fish in Mansinam island.
