Chicken Reef

Overview

La Galigo Liveaboard places Chicken Reef east off the coast of Kri Island and describes large coral bommies and gorgonian fans covering a submerged seamount, with walls, sloping reefs and deep channels. Bird's Head Seascape gives two GPS positions for the site, one for a rising tide (S 00 32.716 E 130 42.021) and one for a falling tide (S 00 32.825 E 130 42.122). PADI's page for the site, contributed by Meridian Adventure, gives a single position between them (-0.54643, 130.70190), which is the point used here. Papua Diving calls Chicken Reef one of the larger reefs in Raja Ampat and divides it into four smaller dive sites: Chicken Reef, Chicken Bay, Sleeping Barracuda and Surgeonfish Slope. Papua Diving and Raja Ampat Biodiversity Nature Resort list Mike's Point, Cape Kri and Sardine Reef as separate sites, and Bird's Head Seascape gives each of them its own position.

The dive

La Galigo says the site can be dived on either a rising or a falling current, and the direction decides the route. On a rising current it drops in at the north end and swims south with the reef on the right; on a falling tide it drops in at the south end and swims north with the reef on the left. Either way the dive starts on the top of the seamount, just 5 metres under the surface, then follows the sloping reef down to about 20 metres. La Galigo says most of the action is between 10 and 20 metres and points out bommies rich in marine life at the southern end. PADI's page describes a steady sloping reef of soft and hard corals down to 20 metres.

Marine life

La Galigo reports large schools of fusiliers, surgeonfish, bluefin jacks and butterflyfish, with sweetlips, clown triggerfish and snappers. It names barracudas, whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, trevallies and giant trevallies as frequent visitors, schools of bumphead parrotfish in the shallows, and Spanish mackerel and tuna as occasional. For macro it lists pygmy seahorses, mantis shrimps, flatworms, nudibranchs and frogfish, with crocodilefish and wobbegong sharks hiding in the coral. Raja Ampat Biodiversity Nature Resort mentions large numbers of fusiliers, pipefish, pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs, flatworms, crabs and shrimps, and possible sightings of crocodilefish or wobbegong sharks. PADI's page says the many small fish attract predators, with a good chance of barracudas, whitetip sharks or trevallies.

Conditions and level

La Galigo gives the typical current as medium to strong, and the resort gives it as mild to strong. La Galigo says visibility typically ranges from 15 to 30 metres when the site is dived on incoming or outgoing tides. The sources disagree on depth and level. La Galigo gives a maximum depth of about 30 metres and the resort a range of 3 to 30 metres, while PADI's page gives a maximum depth of 27 metres. La Galigo calls the site suitable for intermediate to advanced divers, especially those comfortable with drift diving and moderate currents, and the resort also rates it intermediate to advanced; Papua Diving rates it beginner to intermediate. La Galigo describes the site as snorkeller friendly, while Papua Diving says it is not. The sources give no water temperature, season or minimum certification for the site.