Fiji Marine Life

Soft corals and hard corals

Fiji's nickname, the soft coral capital of the world, comes from the soft corals that grow wherever current runs strongly. Unlike hard corals, which build a stony skeleton and rely mostly on algae living in their tissue for food, many soft corals depend on catching plankton from the water. In strong current they inflate and open their polyps, turning walls and pinnacles pink, purple, orange, yellow and white. When the current stops they deflate and look like a different reef. The best places to see them are Rainbow Reef in Taveuni and the pinnacles of Bligh Water.

Fiji also has extensive hard coral reefs, especially in sheltered lagoons and on reef flats. Table corals, staghorn thickets and large boulder corals make up the structure that everything else depends on. Like reefs everywhere, they face pressure from warming seas, coral bleaching and storms, so it helps to follow good reef etiquette and choose operators that support conservation.

Sharks

Fiji is one of the best places in the Pacific to see sharks. Reef sharks are common on many dives, especially around passages and outer walls. The best-known shark encounter is in Beqa Lagoon, where bull sharks gather at a protected reef for a guided feed dive. On the same dive, operators report tawny nurse sharks, sicklefin lemon sharks and, now and then, a tiger shark. Fiji has taken steps to protect sharks, and the success of shark tourism has made them worth more alive than dead to many communities.

Manta rays and mobulas

Reef manta rays visit Fiji's waters to feed on plankton and to be cleaned at cleaning stations. The most reliable place to see them is the channel between Drawaqa and Naviti in the Yasawa Islands, in the cooler months. Manta Project Fiji, part of the Manta Trust, studies them and has identified many individuals from the unique spot patterns on their bellies. Smaller mobula rays are also seen in Fijian waters. Mantas are protected in Fiji, so always follow your guide's code of conduct.

Reef fish and macro life

Almost every dive in Fiji is busy with reef fish. Clouds of orange anthias hover over soft coral bommies. Schools of fusiliers, snappers and barracuda swirl around pinnacles in the current. Butterflyfish, angelfish, triggerfish and parrotfish work the reef, and moray eels peer out of holes. Look closer and you will find nudibranchs, cleaner shrimp, anemonefish, pipefish, leaf scorpionfish and small crabs living on the corals and sea fans. Slow dives on the lagoon reefs of Kadavu or Beqa Lagoon are good for macro.

Protecting Fiji's reefs

Many of Fiji's reefs are managed by the villages that hold traditional fishing rights over them, often with help from conservation groups. Marine reserves such as Shark Reef and Namena show how protection can bring back fish and support local income through dive fees. You can help by keeping your fins off the coral, never touching or feeding wildlife unless it is part of a regulated dive, using reef-safe sun protection, and paying reserve levies willingly. If you are new to diving, good buoyancy is the single best thing you can do for the reef. Our learn to dive in Fiji page explains how courses teach it.