Raja Ampat · Indonesia · Muck & macro · Reef
Arborek Jetty
Schooling jacks hunting silversides under the village jetty
Photo: Ben Costamagna · CC BY 4.0
Arborek Jetty is the village jetty on Arborek Island in the Dampier Strait, dived and snorkelled under its wooden pillars. The pillars carry a thick growth of soft corals, sponges and hydroids, and thousands of fish gather beneath. Photographers and macro divers come for the encrusted pillars and the fish.
Where it is and how deep
0.5639° S, 130.5188° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The dive works around and under the wooden jetty between 3 m and 19 m. Each pillar is coated with soft corals, sponges and hydroids, and the gaps between them fill with thousands of fish. Schooling jacks hunt the smaller silversides beneath the planks, the scene that draws photographers back.
Marine life and season
- Trevally & jacks
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime |
Season follows Raja Ampat: October to April is the drier stretch and November to April the manta season at Manta Ridge; July to mid-September can bring strong winds and rough seas.
Know before you go
- Currents under the jetty run from mild to strong, and the strong ones make it a hard dive.
Photos from Arborek Jetty
libby hepburn · CC BY 4.0
Dive videos
Arborek Jetty | Raja Ampat | Underwater Film | Relaxing | Music | Diving | Indonesia | 라자암팟 | 인도네시아 · Beauty of Ocean - Underwater Film 바다속 영상 on YouTube
Sources
- Arborek Jetty dive site — PADI
- Arborek Jetty — ScubaGo
Photo credits
- A bright yellow jack swims low over coral rubble and a tan soft coral. by Ben Costamagna, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Two silvery round-bodied spadefish swim side by side in open blue water. by libby hepburn, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Raja Ampat
Reef
Reef hook dive at 10-12 m in very strong current
Overhang at 28-35 m with the wall dropping past 50
Reef
Five Rocks: a repeat-request reef to around 24 m
House reef from the jetty at 2 m down to 20 m
Pinnacle
Cleaning stations on the summit, mantas on the flanks in season
Fish fill the water before your BCD is finished deflating
Wall
A drift from schooling fish on the point to macro on the slope
Pinnacle
Fish clouds swirling through a boulder corridor
Similar dives elsewhere
Muck slope and coral bommies ten metres apart
Small wrecks, sea-pen sand and frogfish five minutes off the beach
Resident hairy frogfish a short ride from the island
Muck and healthy reef on the sanctuary's southern edge