As recent visitors to Raja Ampat, we did not expect to be writing a petition. We visited in good faith, believing that Marine Protected Area regulations were being enforced and that marine park fees supported conservation and protection.

Publicly available information describes Raja Ampat as a Marine Protected Area in which commercial fishing, including bagan, gill or lift net fishing, are prohibited. Marine park fees increased significantly in 2026 and are promoted as supporting conservation and enforcement. However, observations from recent site visits do not align with these stated protections.

Multiple bagan fishing platforms have been observed operating openly within the Marine Protected Area, including close to homestays, resorts, and well known dive sites. Community members and local fishermen report that these platforms have operated openly for several years, with their number and cumulative impact steadily increasing. Platforms have also been observed operating near Marine Park Authority offices.

On site observations and information provided by community members indicate that these platforms anchor directly on coral reefs, deploy nets and hand lines, and operate nightly from dusk until dawn using high intensity lighting, with community members noting that the number of platforms varies with the lunar cycle and is highest during dark moon phases. Catches are reportedly transferred at first light and transported directly to Sorong without inspection. Local residents and fishermen report that sharks are being caught on lines around these platforms and that dolphin calves have been taken as bycatch. A verified report documented the capture of nine manta rays inside the Marine Protected Area. Because there are no checks at transfer or on arrival, there is currently no way to verify whether manta gills or other high value wildlife products are also being moved through this route.

Anchors from these platforms drag across surrounding reef areas, including near recently installed mooring systems intended to reduce reef damage. Because most of these platforms operate only at night and spend the day on nearby beaches, anchors are dropped each evening, resulting in repeated anchor damage rather than a single stationary impact. By anchoring around these moorings, the platforms negate their primary function. At the same time, generator noise, loud music, lighting, and visual intrusion deter liveaboards from using nearby moorings, rendering a widely promoted reef protection measure pointless.

Community members report that a substantial proportion of these platforms are owned by operators from outside Raja Ampat. Traditional fishermen and homestay operators describe increasing difficulty maintaining livelihoods and raise concerns about enforcement decisions influenced by private interests. Violations are described as occurring openly and without consequence. Recently circulated video footage shows homestay owners confronting a bagan operator from Manado, reflecting escalating local opposition and declining trust linked to continued inaction.

Concerns have also been raised regarding proposals to weaken existing regulations through seasonal allowances, zoning exceptions, or conditional permissions. In practice, some enforcement actions are reportedly excused by reference to village level permissions or informal agreements, which fall outside the Marine Protected Area regulatory framework. The current rules are effective precisely because they are clear. Once diluted, enforcement becomes unworkable in practice, allowing commercial fishing to continue under revised interpretations and eroding the Marine Protected Area in all but name. These proposals have also included sport fishing, an activity that is already occurring due to limited enforcement capacity and is now being considered for formal allowance rather than addressed through enforcement.

At the same time, government supported initiatives such as ReShark promote the breeding and release of protected leopard sharks in Raja Ampat. Public information describes substantial public expenditure on egg importation, quarantine, transport, and specialist care prior to release. These sharks are released within one to two miles of areas where bagan fishing platforms operate nightly, undermining significant conservation investment and placing released animals at immediate risk.

Raja Ampat is promoted internationally as a protected area where marine park fees support conservation and enforcement. Yet commercial fishing platforms have been observed operating at night near widely recognised sites including Mioskon, Blue Magic, Sardine Reef, Friwin Wall, Batu Lima, Francisko, Urai, and Saporkren. Where such activity occurs openly within a Marine Protected Area, its core purpose is not being upheld. In this context, it is reasonable for visitors to question the basis on which marine park fees are collected.

Across multiple locations, residents and community members consistently report that routine patrols are not observed. We also heard from community members that when night time fishing activity is reported, responses have at times cited health and safety concerns as a reason patrols do not operate after dark, despite the fact that bagan, net, and other illegal fishing activities are widely understood to take place primarily at night. As a result, there are no reported patrols specifically targeting bagan or net fishing, even when these activities are openly visible and repeatedly reported. Patrol vessels are reportedly seen only after major public incidents such as ship groundings or cases of cyanide or blast fishing, after damage has already occurred.

In Misool, where the Misool Foundation conduct the only regular patrols, community members report that prosecutions are extremely rare or effectively impossible. As a result, the same operators are able to return and resume fishing.

This petition seeks the consistent application of existing Marine Protected Area regulations in practice. Commercial fishing must not be permitted anywhere within the Marine Protected Area under any circumstances, including bagan or lift net platforms, gill nets, and all forms of commercial net fishing. Effective protection requires regular and visible enforcement so that prohibited activities cannot continue to operate openly or without consequence.