Rules in the Raja Ampat Marine Park

The Raja Ampat marine park authority publishes rules that many cruise pages never mention.

They cover collection, fishing, wildlife, anchoring, vessel permits, waste and motorised water sports. Some apply directly to a guest. Others are obligations for the operator. Keeping those categories separate matters.

This is a plain-language summary of the authority pages read on 8 August 2026, not independent legal advice. The authority was migrating its website, so we set a short review date and link readers to the current Raja Ampat marine park authority page.

Leave natural and cultural objects where they are

The general-use rules prohibit collecting natural objects. The authority's examples include shells, seahorses, coral and wood. It also prohibits taking historical and cultural objects.

"Dead" doesn't create an exception on the published page. Do not pocket coral fragments or shells from a beach. Do not move an object into a better photograph and forget to replace it. The useful visitor rule is simple: observe without removing.

The authority separately prohibits damaging or removing coral, living or dead. Divers and snorkellers should control equipment and buoyancy rather than treating contact as an unavoidable part of the activity.

Do not feed, capture or harass wildlife

Fish feeding is generally prohibited on the authority's page. It changes animal behaviour and isn't needed for a close encounter.

The rules prohibit capturing, injuring, killing, storing, possessing, maintaining, transporting or trading protected animals, including eggs and nests. Sharks and manta rays are among the protected groups named by the authority. It also lists turtles, protected ray families, giant clams, coconut crabs, nautilus, coelacanths and birds of paradise.

The published pages do not provide an official manta-interaction distance. We won't invent one and call it a park rule. Follow the guide's briefing, do not chase or block an animal, and treat any operator-specific distance as that operator's practice unless an authority source is supplied.

The guide to photography aboard a Raja Ampat cruise applies the same distinction to images: getting closer isn't more important than following the operating brief.

Fishing restrictions affect guests too

Tourist spearfishing is prohibited, and the authority separately names scuba spearfishing. It states that all shark fishing is prohibited within the shark sanctuary framework.

A leisure charter should not offer an activity merely because equipment fits aboard. Ask whether any proposed fishing is lawful in the exact location and under the vessel's permits. We don't advertise fishing inside protected waters without a confirmed legal operating basis.

Scientific research also needs permission. A guest taking ordinary holiday photographs isn't thereby conducting research, but a planned collection or study should not be disguised as tourism.

Motorised water sports

The general-use page lists jet-skis and motorised water sports as prohibited. That matters because some luxury charter marketing displays this equipment.

An item on a vessel's inventory does not establish where it can legally be used. If equipment is intended for use outside protected boundaries, the operator must say so and manage the location. Our cruise pages do not promise motorised toys inside the park.

Kayaks and paddleboards are a different operating category, but their use still follows crew instructions, site access and conditions.

Anchoring is an operator issue with a visible consequence

The authority says anchoring is generally prohibited in Raja Ampat marine protected waters. It instructs vessels to use a mooring where available and, where none is available, to take all necessary steps to avoid damage to coral reefs and sensitive marine environments before anchoring.

Guests should not direct a captain to anchor closer for convenience. The captain and operator own the vessel decision.

The authority page does not explain the full mooring administration, eligibility or any fee. We leave those questions open rather than guessing. What is clear is the priority given to moorings and avoiding reef damage.

Our Dampier Strait marine area guide connects sites and routes without publishing anchorage instructions that belong to operating crews.

Waste and litter

Littering and improper waste disposal are prohibited. Keep loose items secured before wind or boat movement carries them overboard. Return waste to the vessel rather than leaving it at a beach, jetty or viewpoint.

Ask the operator how drinking water is supplied and how waste is managed. Refillable bottles reduce loose packaging, but a sustainability label is not evidence of a functioning waste plan.

Nothing should be thrown overboard because it appears biodegradable. Follow the crew's bins and separation system.

Vessel permits are not the guest permit

The authority states that recreational, commercial, fishing and private vessels need permits relevant to their operations and activities. It specifically says liveaboards must obtain an operating permit through the responsible one-stop investment and service office in Waisai.

That is an operator obligation. It is separate from the environmental entry permit a visitor buys.

We do not claim a licence number or permit we have not confirmed. A guest can ask an operator to confirm that the assigned vessel is permitted for the activity. The answer should not be replaced with proof that the guest paid an entry fee.

Our full-park Raja Ampat liveaboard route states the authority's visitor permit figure in its exclusions. That still does not represent a total entry cost because a possible additional ticket remains unconfirmed in the research.

The code of conduct is still pending

At the research date, the authority's code-of-conduct page said location-specific visitor codes were in final revision and would be published on its website. We therefore cannot cite an official detailed code for diving, snorkelling, manta encounters, photography or village etiquette.

The absence of that document is not permission to behave carelessly. It means general law, published marine park rules, host-community requirements and crew procedures remain the sources we can identify.

We re-check the authority's page on every review date rather than presenting a pending draft as current law.

Drones remain unresolved

The marine park authority pages reviewed contain no local drone rule. Indonesia's civil aviation authority describes SIDOPI-GO as its integrated system for drone, pilot and operating approvals, but the source we reached did not state the thresholds or visitor rules needed for practical guidance.

So we publish no altitude, distance, registration threshold or claim that a foreign visitor may fly. Ask the operator before bringing or launching a drone, then confirm the current national and local rules from the responsible authorities.

Do not launch from a boat merely because the deck is open. Aviation requirements, wildlife, community privacy and safe vessel operation are separate considerations.

Dive-site rules can be more specific

A guide may brief a tender route, entry sequence or limits for a sensitive site. Follow that instruction even if it does not appear on the general authority page.

At Manta Sandy cleaning-station diving, our research found a claimed daily diver limit that remains unverified as an official rule. We will not promote an operator practice into law. The site page will distinguish the two.

What guests should do before boarding

Read the current authority rules. Carry proof of the required visitor permit. Tell the operator about drones, fishing equipment, research intentions or unusual water-sports equipment before travel.

Then follow the brief aboard.