TEMPO.CO, Waisai, West Papua - The Indonesian Guides Association (HPI) of Raja Ampat Regency, West Papua Province, worked together to clean the beach and pick up the spiny starfish to the mainland. It is the pest that destroys coral reefs in the Misool Sea.
The chairman of HPI Raja Ampat, Ranny Iriani Tumundo in Waisai, Tuesday, December 11, said the activity was an initiative of the HPI Misool members and was held on December 11-12. The activity, which was coordinated by an HPI member Michael Sada on the first day at Olobi Misool, managed to pick up 562 spiny starfish.
According to Ranny, the pickup was carried out by snorkeling and then the starfish are clamped at a depth of two to four meters. The team was guided by a special force of spiny starfish named Maya.
Eleven HPI members involved in the activity and one person from the Regional Public Service Agency Technical Implementation Unit of the Raja Ampat Waters Conservation Area, and five people from tourism stakeholders in Misool namely Misool Eco Resort.
The activity was carried out with the support of the Head of the Regional Public Service Agency of the Technical Implementation Unit of the Raja Ampat Waters Conservation Area and Kehati Foundation.
“The activity carried out by HPI with the aim of preserving the sea, can be run with financial support from the Blue Abadi Fund distributed by the Kehati Foundation,” he said.
ANTARA