The
Ceram Sea or
Seram Sea is one of several small seas between the scattered islands of
Indonesia. It is a section of the
Pacific Ocean with an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometers located between
Buru and
Seram, which are two of the islands once called the
South Moluccas. These islands are the native habitat of plants long coveted for their use as
spices, such as
nutmeg,
cloves, and
black peppercorns, and the seas surrounding them were busy shipping routes. The Ceram Sea is also the habitat of several species of tropical
goby and many other fish. Like many other small Indonesian seas, the Ceram Sea is rocky and very
tectonically active.