Beqa Lagoon · Fiji · Wall · Reef
Frigates Walls
Vertical outer-reef walls where eagle rays and mobulas pass.
Area photo: Jay Brasher · CC BY 4.0
Frigates sits on the outer barrier reef of Beqa Lagoon, far enough out that only a handful of operators run the trip. The reef is large enough to hold three or four separate dives, with vertical walls, fans and hard corals between 3 m and 30 m, and enough open-water traffic along the edge to bring eagle rays, mobulas and schooling barracuda past.
Also known as Frigate Passage, Frigates.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Beqa Lagoon and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The reef runs along the outer barrier of the lagoon and its walls fall vertically into the blue, with the profile working between 3 m and 30 m. There is enough reef here for three or four distinct dives, so which stretch you get depends on the day, the boat and where the crew wants to sit the drop. Fans and hard corals hold the wall face, and the shallow top of the reef is where dives finish out.
Keep an eye on the blue while you work the wall. Eagle rays, mobula rays, zebra sharks and schooling barracuda are all found here, along with whitetip and grey reef sharks, while green and hawksbill turtles work the reef itself. Because so few resorts come out this far, you will usually have the whole reef to your own boat, which also means the reef is quiet and the fish are unbothered by divers.
Marine life and season
- Eagle rays
- Mobula rays
- Barracuda
- Reef sharks
- Sea turtles
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Beqa Lagoon: Bull shark season runs May to September and tigers are likeliest June to August; in the November to April wet season, bad weather can cancel the shark dive.
Know before you go
- This is an exposed outer-reef site and usually the only boat out there, so there is no second boat nearby if a diver surfaces away from the wall.
Dive videos
Pronghorn Spiny Lobster, (Panulirus penicillatus) FIJI 2010 · Bruce Carlson on YouTube
Sources
- Frigates Walls — Waidroka Bay Resort
More dive sites in Beqa Lagoon
Pinnacle
Five current-swept pinnacles cut by tunnels and swim-throughs.
Pinnacle
A 30 m fishing boat on the sand beside seven coral pinnacles.
Up to 100 bull sharks over the baited arena at 30 m.
Similar dives elsewhere
Hook into the plateau lip and let the sharks stack up off the edge
A ledge on a Namena wall that falls away for hundreds of feet
Two reef-hook stops, 10 to 30 m, in often the strongest current in Palau
Wall
Shark Island
Kosrae · Micronesia
Sharks, barracuda and dog-tooth tuna along a current-swept wall