Abu Latt

The reef here starts almost at the surface. A well-developed shallow slope runs from about 3-4 m down to 12 m under a high cover of Millepora and Acropora, and the structure breaks into coral spurs separated by patches of sand and rubble that continue on into deeper water. There is no route to follow and no feature to find: you work along the slope, and at these depths air rather than no-decompression time is what ends the dive.

A second stretch of the island's reef is built differently, on a columnar Porites framework with up to about 10 m of relief and shallow ground between 5 and 10 m. Large Porites colonies grow here in encrusting and massive forms alongside Diploastrea, Favia stelligera and Hydnophora, with giant clams in relatively high abundance set into the framework. Small colourful reef fish are everywhere, several larger grouper and snapper hold on the structure, and a shark came through on one of the survey dives.

The reef is not in perfect condition. Divers surveying it recorded many small dead corals and a good deal of partial mortality across the slope, signs of an earlier disturbance, though the prevalence of coral disease was low. Above water the island carries sandy beaches that are important nesting ground for sea turtles.