August 15, 2022 – The appearance of sunfish in the shallow sea becomes a tourist attraction in Nusa Penida, Bali during the month from July to September. Thus, new regulations are set for tourists who will dive to see these rare fish.
“This [sunfish] lives in the deep sea however, it emerged into the shallow sea every July with most of its appearance in August to September,” said Wirasanjaya, Project Leader of Coral Triangle Center Nusa Penida.
According to him, tourists are interested to dive at Nusa Penida when the sunfishes are there because this fish is one of the unique animals. Even though they are present in other countries’ seas, only in Nusa Penida waters you’ll be able to see them.
The appearance of sunfishes in the shallow seas is caused by the movement of deep water to the surface. This condition brings nutrients, which makes the shallow waters rich in food sources.
“Because there are a lot of food sources, the sunfishes raise up to the shallow waters. Other than that, they move to do the cleaning with the help of little fishes,” he explained.
According to his observations, the appearance of sunfish in Nusa Penida is quite stable in terms of the number of fish and the time they appeared since 2008. Even if there are no exact numbers, there should be 2 to 3 fishes present in one observation point.
There are four locations in which sunfishes are present in Nusa Penida. Which is in Crystal Bay, Gamat Bay, Toya Pakeh, and Blue Corner.
Nengah Bagus Sugiarta, the head of UPTD Bali Waters Conservation Area, Department of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, said that his team has made diving regulations when sunfishes are present in the shallow waters. An example is that divers are not allowed to take pictures using a camera flash to maintain the fish’s retinas.
Other regulations that divers have to follow are to not touch the fish, the distance between fish and divers is limited to 5 meters maximum, divers are not allowed to block the fish’s swimming route, and others.
