Bunaken · Indonesia · Reef · Sand slope · Coral garden
Fukui
Five hefty giant clams lying in a row on the sand
Photo: mattk1979 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Fukui sits on the west coast of Bunaken Island and breaks the local pattern: instead of a vertical wall there is a slope covered with hard corals and sandy areas, broken by a few short, steep drops. Normal diving depth is 10 to 25 metres and the current is usually none or light. Napoleon wrasse, giant trevally and very big snappers work the slope, and a colony of garden eels and five giant clams sit out on the sand.
Also known as Fukui Point.
Where it is and how deep
1.6084° N, 124.7403° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Fukui is named, not as an insult to a visitor called Hughie, but after its Japanese discoverer, who dived the spot some 20 years ago, and it always features highly on people's favourites list for the park. With the current normally none or light, the dive is a slow working of the ground between 10 and 25 metres rather than a drift, so you can pick a feature and stay with it.
Out on the sand you can spend the time on the colony of garden eels, or on the five hefty tridacna giant clams lying in a row. In the coral, white-spotted moray eels peer out from their hideouts and sailfin tangs raise their dorsal fins and soar away. The site is a cleaning station, so the big fish come in: napoleon wrasse have their parasites nibbled off while trevally and large snappers line up for the same treatment.
If there is a current running the character of the dive changes: thousands of red-tooth triggerfish swarm low down and en masse across the reef slope. The site can be dived all year. Access is either from the shore on Bunaken or by boat from Manado and the resorts on the Bunaken islands, which is part of why it stays in the rotation whatever month you visit.
Marine life and season
- Napoleon wrasse
- Trevally & jacks
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Bunaken: May–October dry season gives the clearest water; some rain and runoff November–April.
Photos from Fukui
mattk1979 · CC BY-SA 2.0
mattk1979 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dive videos
Sulawesi, Indonesia. Bunaken, Fukui. GoPro Hero 3 - 4k. Abril de 2014. · pedrojviveros_uwphoto on YouTube
Diving Fukui - Bunaken, Indonesia - including Fish ID · Scubabeat on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is Fukui a wall dive?+
No. Unlike most Bunaken sites, Fukui is a slope covered with hard corals and sandy areas, with a few short, steep drops rather than one vertical face. Normal diving depth is 10 to 25 metres.
When can you dive Fukui?+
All year. The current is normally none or light, and when it does run the slope fills with thousands of red-tooth triggerfish swarming low across the reef.
Sources
- Fukui Point dive site — Divezone
- Diving sites Indonesia: Manado, Bunaken — Dive The World
Photo credits
- Reef fish over coral heads and sandy patches on Fukui's sloping reef by mattk1979, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Openverse
- Blue linckia starfish resting on the sandy reef bottom at Fukui by mattk1979, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Openverse
- Lionfish with fanned spines resting against the coral at Fukui by mattk1979, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Openverse
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