Fishing boats in the main harbour
'Karimunjawa' is an
archipelago of 27 islands in the
Java Sea,
Indonesia, 90 kilometres west of
Jepara. The islands' name means 'not clearly seen from Java' in
Javanese. The main island is also known as Karimunjawa. Two of the larger islands are Kemujang and Parang. The island of
Bawean lies east of this group. The islands are administratively part of
Jepara district (kabupaten) of
Central Java.
Apart from use as a
pirate base, the islands are believed to have been uninhabited until a penal settlement was established during the British occupation of Java in the early nineteenth century. The settlement was abandoned by the Dutch during the
Java War (1825-1830), but the former
convicts remained as settlers. Coconut plantations set up during the convict period became a major source of income, as did fishing.
The islands have been declared a marine national park with extensive coral reefs; a mixture of
fringing,
barrier, and
atoll reefs. There are a number of dive sites and an upmarket dive resort.
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