Coral looked great at Wakatobi

[FishCity]

Just a quick update for prospective visitors wondering about bleaching. We were at Wakatobi Resort this past week (Sept. 2017) and the shallow water corals looked great. No bleaching at all, very healthy, great water clarity.

We snorkeled but all the others there were divers and no one saw any bleaching.

Waters there were reportedly low to mid 80s.

I know what bleaching looks like.

After having seen the vibrancy and diversity in Indonesia, not sure I will feel the same about Hawaii!

 

[billt4sf]

Just a quick update for prospective visitors wondering about bleaching. We were at Wakatobi Resort this past week (Sept. 2017) and the shallow water corals looked great. No bleaching at all, very healthy, great water clarity.

We snorkeled but all the others there were divers and no one saw any bleaching.

Waters there were reportedly low to mid 80s.

I know what bleaching looks like.

After having seen the vibrancy and diversity in Indonesia, not sure I will feel the same about Hawaii!

Not EVEN close. But a great place to visit.

 

[Neptune Scuba Diving]

Actually at Wakatobi there're so many good things happening! Most importantly, so many marine conservation actions taking place.

We've had the pleasure of being visited by one of the conservation people working there ... they initiated this project that they stimulate the locals with money to try to sort and reuse their plastic. Of course, they're also trying to minimise the use of plastic

With respect and appreciation,
Julian

 

[Hank49]

Re coral bleaching, I’m on the north side of Pulau Seram now and there is no sign of bleaching either.
I have limited dive experience in Indonesia. But in the few times I have been free diving here, once on South Sulawesi in 1987 and now here on Seram, I’ve experienced a pretty extreme thermocline....maybe 5 degrees Centigrade? Fricken COLD!!!!
Here, it definitely came in with the upcoming tide. I had done dives to 18 meters or so and it was still surface temperature. But an hour or so later, the water got cold at only 10 meters or so on the drop off just 50 meters off the beach.
Deep offshore water coming in with the tide? Perhaps at 4 degrees or so south latitude, this is what’s cooling down the coral reefs? Lucky for Indonesia.

 

[billt4sf]

I assume it's the Indonesian Through Flow. Google it.

- Bill

 

[Hank49]

I assume it's the Indonesian Through Flow. Google it.

- Bill

Yep, that pretty much explains the phenomenon. The Pacific water does a direct hit on the north side of Seram, or, “Scary Island”, translated from Bahasa.