DEEP Indonesia

MantaWatch visited the DEEP 2011 dive show in Jakarta last weekend, to raise awareness about the plight of manta rays in Indonesia and catch up with some of our Indonesian manta watchers.

DEEP is the only international diving, marine and ecotourism exhibition in Indonesia, and attracts over 10,000 visitors and 100 exhibitors from around the world. The show aims to showcase the unique marine life and dive sites that Indonesia has to offer, as well as educate the public on scuba diving and marine conservation.

The show enabled us to catch up with some of the dedicated dive operators across Indonesia who are photo tagging their local mantas and actively supporting MantaWatch, including DiveKomodo from Komodo National Park, Bali Marine Sports from Bali, and Manta Dive from Lombok .

It was also a great opportunity to meet the huge community of Indonesian and foreign divers who are passionate about Indonesia’s rich marine biodiversity. Many said that mantas are one of their favorite creatures to dive with.

Of course we told these divers how easy and fun it is to contribute to manta conservation, and we hope that many of these divers will become regular manta watchers.

DEEP Indonesia was held at the Jakarta Convention Centre from 31 March to 4 April 2011.

The Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Tourism has officially designated DEEP Indonesia as a national event for promoting and developing Indonesia’s marine tourism. We look forward to catching up with everyone at next year’s event, scheduled for 29 March to 1 April 2010.

For information on DEEP Indonesia, visit the website at http://www.deepandextremeindonesia.com/.