Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve |
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Fish at Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve, 2012
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 Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve
Location in Guam
Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve
Location in Pacific Ocean
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Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve
Location in Earth
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| Location | Piti Bay |
| Nearest city | Piti, Guam |
| Area | 3.64 km2 (900 acres) |
| Established | 1999 |
| Governing body | Guam Department of Agriculture |
The Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve is a special ocean area on the western coast of Guam. It protects all of Piti Bay, near the village of Piti in the Philippine Sea.
The preserve gets its name from unique "bomb hole" features. These look like craters from explosions, but they are actually natural holes in the reef. Fresh water filters into the shallow lagoon through these holes, which are about 25 to 30 feet (7.6 to 9.1 m) deep. The biggest of these holes is home to the Fish Eye Marine Park. This popular tourist spot has a long wooden pier leading to an underwater observatory. You can also try a "Seawalker" tour, where you wear a special helmet to walk on the lagoon bottom. Over 200,000 people visit Fish Eye Marine Park every year!
The Piti preserve is the most diverse of Guam's five marine preserves, meaning it has the widest variety of plants and animals. The area around Fish Eye is a favorite spot for snorkeling and scuba diving.
Exploring Piti's Ocean World
The Piti Bomb Holes Marine Preserve covers about 3.64 square kilometers (1.4 square miles). A large part of this area is a wide, flat reef. The preserve shares a reef line with Asan Bay, where people are allowed to fish.
The eastern edge of the preserve is near Asan Point. This point is also part of the War in the Pacific National Historical Park, which remembers the 1944 battle when American forces took back the island. Along the southern shore of Piti, there are two beach parks: Tepungan Beach and Pedro Santos Memorial Park. Three rivers flow into the preserve: the Matgue River, the Taguag River, and the Masso River.
Amazing Ocean Life
The shoreline of the preserve is lined with seagrasses. These underwater plants are like safe homes for young fish. The mouths of the three rivers also create special nursery areas for many different ocean species.
The "bomb holes" are the deepest parts of the preserve. They are natural pits where fresh water seeps into the ocean. These pits are home to many types of hard and soft coral. These corals support fish and other sea creatures that aren't found in other parts of the preserve. In fact, two types of mollusks (like snails or clams) and one type of sea urchin are found only in the Piti Bomb Holes Preserve! This amazing variety of life is why Piti was chosen as a marine protected area in 1999. Since then, the number of fish in the preserve has more than doubled!
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Unlike other marine preserves in Guam, fishing of any kind is generally not allowed between the Piti shore and the outer reef. However, people can fish by "trolling" (dragging a line behind a boat) outside the main reef line. Sometimes, the Guam Department of Agriculture allows fishing for specific types of fish using certain methods. Studies have shown that protecting fish in Piti helps increase fish populations in nearby areas where fishing is allowed. This is called "spillover."
In 2013, Guam's first coral nursery was started in the Piti preserve. This project helps marine biologists grow new corals. They place adult corals close together on special structures like "coral tables" and "coral trees." This helps the corals reproduce and grow, which is important for the health of the reef.
However, the Piti Bomb Holes have experienced significant coral bleaching in recent years. Coral bleaching happens when corals get stressed, often by warm water, and lose their color and can die. Scientists are studying how different types of corals are affected and what this means for the future of the reef. Protecting these areas is very important for the health of Guam's ocean. People who fish illegally in the preserve are taking away from the community and harming the ocean's ability to recover.
Fish Eye Marine Park: An Underwater Adventure
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A Fish Eye employee feeding fish to attract them for visitors inside the observatory, 2006
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| Location | Guam, USA |
| Waterbody | Piti Bay |
| Nearest land | Piti |
| Coordinates | 13°28′20″N 144°42′13″E / 13.4722°N 144.7035°E |
| Dive type | Open-water |
| Depth range | 15 to 35 ft (4.6 to 10.7 m) |
| Average visibility | 20 to 30 ft (6.1 to 9.1 m) |
| Entry type | Shore |
| Bottom composition | Rock, coral, sand |
| Water | Salt |
The underwater observatory at Fish Eye Marine Park was built in 1996. It's located in the largest "bomb hole" in Piti Bay and is the only underwater observatory in Micronesia. The deepest windows for viewing are about 30 feet (9.1 m) underwater. To reach the observatory, you walk along a 1,000-foot (300 m) long wooden boardwalk. This pier also leads to the Guam Seawalker business, where visitors can wear special helmets to explore the sea floor.
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The area around the underwater observatory is a popular spot for snorkeling and recreational diving. It's often called "Fish Eye" or "Piti Bomb Holes." It's easy to get to, has a protective reef, and a shallow sandy bottom. This makes it a great place for beginner divers to learn. Because many people visit and feed the fish, the fish here are not as shy as usual. This makes it an excellent place for underwater photography.
Divers usually enter the water from Tepungan Park and swim along the right side of the pier. The left side of the pier has many seagrasses, which are important homes for young fish. It's best to avoid walking on them to protect the habitat. Piti Bomb Holes is also a favorite spot for introductory night dives. Even though the pier lights turn off, streetlights from nearby Marine Corps Drive provide some light, making it easy to find your way.
The number of divers at Piti Bomb Holes increased a lot after 2001. This was because access to another popular dive spot, Outhouse Beach, was restricted after the September 11 attacks. Now, an estimated 50 to 200 dives happen every day in a small part of the preserve. This high number of dives can sometimes cause damage to the corals. Protecting this special place is important for everyone to enjoy its beauty for years to come.
