true

ISRA FACTSHEETS

ASIA REGION

ISRA FACTSHEETS

ASIA REGION

Northern Raja Ampat Corridor ISRA

45/122

Northern Raja Ampat Corridor ISRA

Northern Raja Ampat Corridor

Summary

Northern Raja Ampat Corridor is located in Southwest Papua, Indonesia. The area includes several islands and bays and has an extended shelf characterised by the presence of coral reefs. It overlaps with one Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area, one Key Biodiversity Area, and four marine protected areas. Within the area there are: threatened species and movement areas (Reef Manta Ray Mobula alfredi).

Northern Raja Ampat Corridor

Northern Raja Ampat Corridor

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

Northern Raja Ampat Corridor is located in Southwest Papua, Indonesia. The area includes several islands, bays, and the Dampier Strait that separates Waigeo, the largest island in the area, from Batanta Island. The area has an extended shelf characterised by the presence of coral reefs. It is situated within the Bird’s Head Seascape, recognised as a global hotspot of coral reef biodiversity and for marine megafauna (Allen & Erdmann 2009).

The area overlaps with the Raja Ampat and Northern Bird’s Head Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area (EBSA; CBD 2024) and the Waigeo Barat Key Biodiversity Area (KBA 2024). It also overlaps with four marine protected areas: KKPN Kepulauan Waigeo Sebelah Barat Marine Nature Reserve, KKPN Kepulauan Raja Ampat Marine Nature Reserve, Selat Dampier (Raja Ampat), and Pulau Sayang Wildlife Sanctuary.

This Important Shark and Ray Area is pelagic and is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to 200 m based on the bathymetry of the area.

CRITERION A

VULNERABILITY

One Qualifying Species considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species regularly occurs in the area. This is the Vulnerable Reef Manta Ray (Marshall et al. 2022).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C4 – MOVEMENT AREAS

Northern Raja Ampat Corridor is important for the movement of one ray species.

Regular movements of Reef Manta Rays have been confirmed using satellite and acoustic telemetry and photo-identification. Movements in the area connect aggregation sites, feeding areas, and reproductive areas of Reef Manta Rays in Dampier Strait (e.g., Dayan, Wai, Manta Ridge, and Arborek) and northwest Waigeo (e.g., Yefnabi Kecil, Eagle Rock, and Wayag; Setyawan et al. 2018, 2022a, 2022b; Setyawan 2023). Aggregation sites are located within a 150 km corridor from Wayag lagoon in northwest Waigeo to Dampier Strait (Setyawan et al. 2018, 2022a, 2022b; Setyawan 2023).

Of 167 individuals acoustically tagged in the southern part of the area between 2013–2019, regular back and forth movements were recorded to northern sites (Setyawan et al. 2018). Reef Manta Rays tagged were detected mostly near tagging sites, but seasonal movements were recorded, with a larger number of detections from December to April at sites around Dampier Strait and from June to October in northern sites west of Waigeo Island (Setyawan et al. 2018). Of 78 individuals tagged between 2016–2020, 72 were detected in the four subregions: Dampier Strait, West Waigeo, Fam and Bambu, and Wayag Island (Setyawan et al. 2018; Setyawan 2023). Movements between aggregation sites in the area were also confirmed from data originating from six individuals tagged with satellite transmitters between 2014–2021 in Dampier Strait and Northwest Waigeo (Setyawan 2023). In addition, 108 Reef Manta Rays were recorded moving between aggregation sites in Dampier Strait and Northwest Waigeo based on photo-identification between 2013–2019 (Setyawan et al. 2020).

These movement patterns are likely influenced by changes in biomass and distribution of phytoplankton produced by seasonal monsoons. During the southeast monsoon, upwelling and primary productivity increase near western Waigeo attracting Reef Manta Rays to sites around it while during warmer northwest monsoon, individuals rely more on zooplankton available near Dampier Strait where currents passing through the strait carry zooplankton to feeding sites there.

Northern Raja Ampat Corridor

SUBMIT A REQUEST

ISRA SPATIAL LAYER REQUEST

To make a request to download the ISRA Layer in either a GIS compatible Shapefile (.shp) or Google Earth compatible Keyhole Markup Language Zipped file (.kmz) please complete the following form. We will review your request and send the download details to you. We will endeavor to send you the requested files as soon as we can. However, please note that this is not an automated process, and before requests are responded to, they undergo internal review and authorization. As such, requests normally take 5–10 working days to process.

Should you have questions about the data or process, please do not hesitate to contact us.

    * indicates required

    Industry or sector (*)

    Under the terms and conditions of our User License Agreement , full and appropriate acknowledgement is required in any materials and publications derived from the data (and copies should be sent to the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group through the contact form). For any publications making substantial use of the data, the ISRA welcomes the opportunity for co-authorship, collaboration, and to comment prior to publication.


    Furthermore, we need to know whether you are a commercial or non-commercial user. Non-commercial includes scientific research, education or conservation. Commercial is defined as follows: any use by, on behalf of, or to inform or assist the activities of a commercial entity (that operates ‘for profit’) or use by a non-profit for the purposes of revenue generation

    Type of use(*):

    Please specify which layer (ex. all layers, layers within a specific Region, layers within a Jurisdiction or a single ISRA): Purpose (*):

    Please provide a description of how you intend to use the ISRA GIS Dataset. The more details you provide, the faster we can respond to your request. We may require further clarification prior to providing access. (min. 100 characters – max 1,000 characters)



    File format request (*)

    By providing your personal data, you consent to its processing as described below. The IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group will use the information you provide on this form to send the documents you requested. You can change your mind at any time by writing to the ISRA Data Coordinator www.sharkrayareas.org/contact. All personal details provided will be treated with respect. For any information you can visit our Privacy Policy.
    Please read the User License Agreement and ISRA Layer Metadata Description

    This form uses Google reCaptcha to reduce spam. Privacy - Terms