Here’s a bit of [hopefully] good news from Indonesia: the AFP reports that the Indonesian government has declared a large area around Nusa Penida, Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Lembongan a special protected zone where destructive fishing practices like cyanide and dynamite will be prohibited, as will be the dumping of raw sewage and other damaging practices.

The Nusa Penida area is a popular dive destination for people hoping to spot the elusive Mola Mola – the world’s largest bony fish.

The project will be supported by donations from The Nature Conservancy and USAID, as well as the local government.

My friend over at Dive Happy has put together a nice round-up of the Best Scuba Diving in Indonesia. He’s dived most of the destinations around the country several times, and the post contains links to all of his articles and live-aboard reviews. Good reading!

I just got back from a long trip to Indonesia that included some dives around Bali as well as a week on the Mermaid II traveling from Bali to Komodo and back. I’ll be updating the guides over the coming weeks, but in the meantime here’s a few highlights from the 70+ ‘good’ pictures I got on the dives.