Beqa Lagoon · Fiji · Reef
Shark Reef Marine Reserve
Up to 100 bull sharks over the baited arena at 30 m.
Area photo: Jay Brasher · CC BY 4.0
Shark Reef is an ordinary hard-coral reef 4 km off Pacific Harbour that has become Fiji's best-known shark dive. Two baited dives run on a slope below the reef, the deeper one starting at 30 m, and the visiting cast runs from bull and tiger sharks down to grey reef, whitetip and blacktip. Divers watch from a fixed position rather than moving with the animals.
Also known as Shark Reef.
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 first dive drops to 30 m, where you spend 10 to 12 minutes overlooking The Arena while the handlers hand-feed and work a bait bin overhead. This is the bull shark level: mostly females, up to 3.5 m, and in peak season up to 100 individuals on a single dive. You are led to a fixed position for watching the sharks and stay in it, since no personal exploration is allowed.
From there the group swims up the slope to 10 m for another 10 to 15 minutes, where grey reef and whitetip reef sharks come in closer, and finishes at 4 m in the shallows with whitetips and blacktips circling through the safety stop. Tawny nurse sharks visit in all-male groups of up to 40, sicklefin lemon sharks come solo or in groups of up to six, and silvertips arrive alone or in twos and threes; giant trevally, rainbow runners and red snappers hold around the edges.
The second dive starts shallower, at either 25 m or 15 m depending on the season, weather and sea state, and usually holds more bull sharks than the first. At 25 m you get 18 to 20 minutes with them before heading up the slope, where the dive master turns the ascent into a coral tour of Shark Reef itself. Both dives run to the same drill: briefings before the trip, an ordered descent, everyone in position before any food goes in.
Background
Shark Reef Marine Reserve was established in April 2004, the first protected shark sanctuary of its kind in Fiji. The village of Galoa relinquished its fishing rights over the reef in exchange for a Shark Reef Marine Reserve Levy paid by every diver on the shark dive; levies disbursed to the village now total more than FJD 450,000. In November 2014 the reserve was designated Fiji's first National Marine Park, with Beqa Adventure Divers entrusted with day-to-day management. Around 100 fish wardens from local communities have been trained to enforce the no-fishing rule, and patrols continue against poaching, still the reserve's biggest threat.
Marine life and season
- Bull sharks
- Tiger sharks
- Lemon sharks
- Reef sharks
- Trevally & jacks
| 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
- Surface conditions can be choppy, so expect a rolling boat at the mooring and an orderly, unhurried entry and exit.
- The first level sits at 30 m for 10 to 12 minutes, so bottom time is short; watch gas and no-stop limits before the group moves up the slope.
- Divers are held at a fixed observation position for the whole feed and no personal exploration is allowed.
Dive videos
Diving with the Largest Bull Sharks in the World: Fiji’s Shark Reef Marine Reserve · Luke Duggan on YouTube
Fiji's Sharks | Diving the Shark Reef Marine Reserve (HD) · Tom Vierus on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Fiji shark dive at Shark Reef?+
The first dive begins at 30 m overlooking The Arena for 10 to 12 minutes, then moves up to 10 m and finishes at 4 m. The second dive starts at either 25 m or 15 m depending on the season and conditions. The site's published range is 5 to 30 m.
What certification do I need for the shark dive?+
Open Water Diver or equivalent is the minimum and you need at least 10 logged dives to take part. Divers with fewer than 30 logged dives are assigned a dive master for supervision. PADI Scuba Diver level is not accepted as a full certification here.
Which sharks are seen at Shark Reef?+
Bull sharks are the draw, with up to 100 possible on one dive in peak season. Tiger sharks visit sporadically and usually alone. Sicklefin lemon, tawny nurse, silvertip, grey reef, whitetip and blacktip reef sharks are all seen on the same dive.
Sources
- Fiji, Viti Levu Dive Sites - Shark Reef — Dive The World
- Shark Reef Marine Reserve — Beqa Adventure Divers
- The Fiji Shark Dive — Beqa Adventure Divers
- Shark Species — Beqa Adventure Divers
- Safety — Beqa Adventure Divers
- Our Work — Beqa Adventure Divers
In The Logbook
- Where to dive with tiger, bull and white sharksBig animals · 14 min read
More dive sites in Beqa Lagoon
Pinnacle
Five current-swept pinnacles cut by tunnels and swim-throughs.
Wall
Vertical outer-reef walls where eagle rays and mobulas pass.
Pinnacle
A 30 m fishing boat on the sand beside seven coral pinnacles.
Similar dives elsewhere
Shallow craters in a gentle drop-off, with blacktip and lemon sharks
Crevice-split shoals holding lobsters and black jack
Reef
Turtle Bluffs
Kauaʻi · United States
A turtle cleaning station on a hill ringed by ledges
Manta rays coming in to cleaner fish on a slope of rose corals