Nekton

The story of Bali's biggest visitor all began way back in 1985, with regular sightings of ominous fins breaking the surface out the back of famous Shipwreck's surf break at Nusa Lembongan Island. A young Dive Instructor was relieved to conclude that the massive fins were not that of a very large predator, but in fact the fins of worlds heaviest bony fish, the Oceanic Sunfish or Mola Mola.

Six years later, while establishing the first phase of what was to become Bali Hai Diving Adventures, this unlikely pair was reunited thirty meters beneath the waves and suspicions were confirmed. One of Bali's growing number of visitors, was the strange and elusive Mola Mola!

Protected Area. This represented a big step towards the fulfillment of twelve years of efforts to ensure the conservation of the world class marine assets of Bali's Three Islands region. Interactions that were provided during this trip were such that participants were left wide eyed and in no doubt the Mola Mola, and its chosen environment, were well worth protecting.

The emerging diving company began monitoring the various environmental indicators associated with the arrival of the animals. Trends began appearing.

This made Bali one of very few places on the Blue Planet, where divers had a good chance of an interaction with these animals.

After ten years of destination promotion, hosting photographers, journalists, collecting data, communication with scientists and award winning video by Mr. Chris Paporakis, awareness of this annual visitation was raised to such an extent, that it had to go global… and, last year, it did.

The first significant activity of the 2004 Mola Mola migration season was a program combining two major marine conservation bodies and key sources of potential funding for the development of a Marine

Next on the scene, were the BBC and world-renowned underwater cinematographer Mr. Peter Scoones. Previous award winning natural history work with the BBC put him first in line to capture footage for the follow up series to the Blue Planet, to be called Planet Earth.

The BBC worked hard for their footage, with multiple descents to thirty meters each day. The hard work paid off in the end, with the team leaving all smiles, pleased with what they had achieved. Smiling the widest was Mr. Chris Paporakis, who had achieved his goal of working

alongside a cameraman who is rated amongst the best in the world.

Visiting Bali at the same time, on a research grant was Miss Tierney Thys. A
National Geographic Emerging Explorer and internationally known marine biologist, Thys's goal was to attach satellite tags to the Mola Mola, a world first in a deep water environment. Considered the world's leading authority on these highly unusual creatures, Thys was accompanied by Indonesian scientists Aidah Hussein and Dr. Joeharni Tresnati.
Little is known about the tropical variety of the Mola. It is hoped this research will provide useful scientific and oceanic information. Documenting this expedition was Mr. Tim Rock, an underwater journalist who has been following the Mola Mola story for twelve years now. (See March/April issue of Nekton). The ultimate highlight for the research team was when the deployment of the first tag was filmed by the BBC with the latest in Hi Definition Video and photographed by Mr. Tim Rock. The energy created by this group was infectious. Bali Hai Cruises, Hai Tide Huts facility was turned into an impromptu lecture theatre with laptops glowing with the latest research and the days images discussed on the candle lit tables on the beach.

Only weeks later, Bali Hai Diving Adventures were hosting Digital Dimensions, another marine production company shooting footage for a new series called "The Equator". Led by Richard Fitzpatrick, this team of Marine Biologists and conservationists must have won some good karma with fishes over the years. They were literally surrounded by these huge animals. Trialing the most powerful remote lighting system ever used underwater, they encountered multiple Mola Mola on every location on each of their sixteen descents. This team was able to capture images of five

animals in one frame, three instances of these massive fish charging out of the depths and leaping full clear of the water, an unheard of six species of fish engaged in cleaning the parasites off a single Mola Mola.

The final highlight was a moment to remember for Bali Hai Diving Adventure's Director, Michael Cortenbach. Cortenbach was able to attach the second satellite tag to a Mola Mola, again the event was filmed. Remarkably, the tagged animal returned to the reef only hours later, allowing capture of close ups of the tag in situ, collecting more valuable data.

Cortenbach describes one particular interaction as amongst the most incredible thirty minutes he has spent with these animals in thirteen years of diving with them. Surrounded by Mola Mola in ideal conditions this dive was a powerful reminder of the unique and diverse diving experiences Bali offers, and why efforts to protect Bali's seas, must continue.

Latest news is that the Satellite tags have now detached and uploaded their data via Satellite. The data will soon be added to the data base on the tropical Mola Mola. The plan is to return to deploy two more tags in 2005.

Both underwater production teams have reported positive responses from their Directors, suggesting Bali can look forward to positive exposure on major networks in the near future. Of course, this exposure threatens to place increased pressure on a unique phenomena, so most importantly, the hope remains that funding will be forthcoming to NGO's to begin work with all community stakeholders to develop a plan to effectively manage and preserve the unique natural asset that is Bali's Three Islands region. So far, approached correctly, Mola Mola have not