Jakarta, October 2026 – Diving offers an opportunity to experience marine life up close. Among coral reefs, divers can encounter a wide variety of fish, each with distinct body shapes, colours, and patterns. But how many of the fish we encounter can we actually identify by name, or even recognise their conservation status?
Indonesia is known for its rich marine biodiversity, with numerous fish species inhabiting ecosystems that range from coastal waters to the deep sea. Identifying these species helps us better understand marine life. After all, diving is not only about enjoying underwater scenery, but also about observing and learning about the life it supports.
Underwater photography is a good way to learn more about this diversity. Through photographs, divers can document the fish they encounter and study the characteristics that help identify each species. With accurate information, these images become more than photographs. They can expand knowledge about marine species while raising awareness of the importance of protecting their ecosystems.
Building on this approach, Fish-ID Nusantara (FIN) combines underwater photography and fish identification through a competition that encourages divers to document marine life in Indonesian waters while learning more about the species they encounter.
Seasoldier recognizes FIN as a groundbreaking innovation in underwater photography, creating new opportunities to explore and appreciate the beauty and rich marine biodiversity of Indonesia.
Through its collaboration as a community partner in this event, Seasoldier hopes that underwater photography can serve as a bridge to enhance participants’ and the wider public’s knowledge and awareness of Indonesia’s diverse marine life.
For us, knowing is the first step towards caring. Care fosters awareness, and awareness can inspire meaningful action to protect our oceans. Through this collaboration, we hope to go beyond creating remarkable visual experiences and inspire more people to take an active role in safeguarding the ocean and the diverse life it sustains.
Getting to Know Fish-ID Nusantara
Fish-ID Nusantara is an underwater photography and fish identification competition that invites divers to identify, document, and record fish species found in Indonesian waters. Participants are challenged not only to capture photographs, but also to identify the fish they encounter using their scientific names and provide supporting information about the location and timing of each dive.
PT Dipa Eralaut Pradana (DEP) organized FIN in collaboration with partners, dive operators, experts, judges, communities, and various stakeholders involved in education, diving, underwater photography, and marine conservation actors and community in Indonesia like Seasoldier. Through these groups, FIN connects diving activities with opportunities to learn about fish species and their conservation status.
Responsible Diving
Documenting underwater life should be done without disturbing marine organisms or their habitats. For this reason, FIN upholds the principles of safety, honesty, and marine environmental protection through responsible diving practices.
Participants are required to maintain proper buoyancy while diving, avoid touching or moving marine life, refrain from damaging coral reefs, and avoid disturbing fish for the sake of obtaining a photograph. Photography must also be carried out without altering the natural behaviour of species or damaging their habitats.
Honesty in documentation is another important part of the competition rules. Every submitted photograph must be the participant’s own work and comply with FIN’s regulations. In this way, the process of identifying and documenting fish species continues to prioritise safety, the authenticity of participants’ work, and the protection of marine ecosystems.
From Underwater Photography to Fish Identification
Species identification is a key component of FIN’s judging process. Each fish identification submitted by participants will be verified by the judging panel before points are awarded based on the species’ conservation status category in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Species in higher threat categories receive more points in accordance with FIN’s scoring system.
To support the verification process, each photograph must include the dive location, as well as the date and time the image was taken, based on its EXIF data. Participants must also provide validation from the dive operator they used. These requirements help verify the authenticity of the documentation, including the time and location where each photograph was taken.
FIN is open to divers, freedivers, and underwater photographers. Participants must meet the applicable certification requirements and may document fish at dive sites throughout Indonesian waters. In addition to earning points for identified species, participants can also earn bonuses by exploring FIN’s 10 Selected Dive Destinations.
Compete While Exploring Indonesia’s Underwater World
The FIN 2026-2027 competition officially began on 1 October 2026, with the photo submission period running until August 2027. Throughout the competition, participants can document a wide variety of fish species during their dives in Indonesian waters. Registration remains open, with a special Early Bird registration fee available until 31 October 2026.
The key dates to keep in mind are:
- 1 October 2026: Registration and competition begin.
- 1-31 October 2026: Early Bird registration period, IDR 190,000, compared with the regular fee of IDR 490,000.
- 15 August 2027: Registration deadline.
- 31 August 2027, at 11.59 p.m. WIB: Final deadline for photo submissions.
- 10 September 2027: Final judging completed.
- 15 September 2027: Winners announced.
Participants can enter the competition from dive sites across Indonesia. They can also explore FIN’s 10 Selected Dive Destinations to earn additional points in accordance with the competition’s rules. This opportunity allows participants to discover more dive locations while documenting a wider variety of fish species.
Total Prizes Worth Up to IDR 300 Million
Alongside the opportunity to expand their knowledge of Indonesia’s fish species, FIN offers total prizes worth up to IDR 300 million, comprising a combination of cash and products provided by the organisers and supporting partners.
The prize pool covers the main competition winners and various special award categories. The types, values, quantities, and distribution of prizes will follow the official competition rules and may be adjusted depending on support from partners.
Through FIN, diving can become an opportunity to learn more about Indonesia’s underwater world. The challenge is not simply to capture compelling photographs or achieve the highest score, but also to identify species accurately, document them responsibly, and understand why this rich marine biodiversity deserves to be protected.
Author: Novi W. Lestari
References
- Fish-ID Nusantara. (2026). About Fish-ID Nusantara. https://fish-id.co/about
- Fish-ID Nusantara. (2026). Fish-ID Nusantara launches, inviting divers to document Indonesia’s fish diversity [Press release]. https://fish-id.co/press
- Fish-ID Nusantara. (2026). Rules and scoring system—FIN 2026–2027. https://fish-id.co/rules
- Fish-ID Nusantara. (2026). Frequently asked questions. https://fish-id.co/faq
- Fish-ID Nusantara. (n.d.). Instagram [Photographs]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/fishidnusantara/
