• Photo by Rantje Allen

  • Photo by William Tan

  • Photo by Rantje Allen

  • Photo by William Tan

  • Photo by Rantje Allen

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Monthly Archives: January 2021

Mooring Buoys for Olele Marine Park

Mooring buoys are a welcome development in Olele Village Marine Park. Miguel’s Diving staff determined the locations and set the buoys in 2020.

Environmentally Friendly Mooring Buoys

Since opening diving in 2003, Miguel’s Diving staff have always anchored our speed boats with care. At each dive site, we have scouted locations suitable for anchoring. Such locations include sandy places and rocky terrain. At many sites, a dive master will jump into the water to place the anchor in a hole that we have found. We re-use the same hole during each visit.

About ten years ago

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, the Bone Bolango Regency Marine Fisheries Department erected floating fences. Although these were not suitable for securing speed boats, local fishermen used them on weekends. This actually opened the marine reserve areas to regular fishing. During the followinge wave season, storms destroyed all the fences. One anchor block still sits at Silvertip Grounds dive site. That hard coral growth now covers that cement block. This rapid growth confirms the healthy marine environment here.

mooring buoys anchor
Steel mooring anchor

Learning from the past, the new series of mooring buoys use a different set up. A stainless steel anchor post is drilled into the ocean bedrock. A short and flexible chain connects the embedded anchor to a strong rope. Floating on the surface is an orange buoy. Boat crews then can tie to this floating mooring buoy. Sadly, one was stolen, so Miguel’s Diving crew dive down and tie to the anchor post at that dive site. At the approach of wave season, marine park monitors will remove all the rope and mooring buoys for seasonal storage. These will be re-attached when dive season returns.   

Locations Determined by Miguel’s Diving

The Tourism Department of Gorontalo Province provided funding for the mooring buoys. Miguel’s Diving staff determined the best locations. They also performed the work of implanting the anchors. There are buoys for twelve dive sites. Plus, an additional three buoys serve the snorkeling catamarans that operate out of Olele Village.

Miguels Diving at buoy
Our speed boat at a mooring buoy

Olele villagers do the monitoring of the marine reserve. They are alert for illegal activities. Thankfully

, no bombing or cyanide fishing has occurred at the village or other areas where Miguel’s Diving takes guests. Since the dive sites are in proximity to villages, monitoring is a simple task. However, remote sites cannot be managed 24 hours daily. Miguel’s Diving is the only dive operator in Gorontalo that owns speed boats. To join us, please make your dive reservations directly.

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