Bilhifeyshi, also called Hook Box, is a wall on Fuvahmulah's edge, broken by overhangs and sloping away to 35-40 metres. Hard corals dominate the rock with pockets of soft coral between them, and the species list runs from fusiliers and hawksbill turtles to whitetip reef, grey reef and silvertip sharks.
Where it is and how deep
0.3149° S, 73.4438° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The site is dived as a wall, dropping onto the face and following it along. Overhangs cut into the rock give the profile more shape than a plain drop-off, and they are worth looking into — lobsters are on the site's species list. Hard corals dominate the surface of the wall, with pockets of soft coral between them, and fusiliers are the fish you see most along the face.
The wall slopes down to 35-40 metres, and that is as deep as the dive goes. Whitetip reef, grey reef and silvertip sharks are all recorded here, along with dogtooth tuna, and hawksbill turtles are on the list as well, so the slow return up the face is not dead time. Nothing guarantees a shark on any given dive; the wall and its corals are the constant.
Depth and Fuvahmulah's open-ocean current set the shape of the dive: a short spell deep at the foot of the slope, then a slow return up the face working the overhangs and the hard coral, and a drifting safety stop in the blue with the boat following the group. There is no shallow reef flat to wait on at the end, so the ascent is done as a team off the wall rather than tied to a fixed point.
Marine life and season
- Reef sharks
- Tuna
- Sea turtles
- Reef fish swarms
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Prime |
Season follows Fuvahmulah: Tiger sharks are resident year-round; the dry NE monsoon (Dec-Apr) gives the calmest seas, while the Oct-Nov transition brings choppier open-water conditions.
Know before you go
- The slope runs to 35-40 m, deep enough to burn no-decompression time fast; agree a maximum depth and turn pressure before the descent.
- Open-ocean current runs along this edge of the island with no atoll to shelter behind — stay tight on the wall and ascend as a group for pickup.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Bilhifeyshi (Hook Box)?+
The wall slopes down to a depth of 35-40 metres. The upper face can be dived shallower, and the overhangs and hard coral run the length of it, so the site does not have to be taken to the bottom of that range.
What sharks are seen at Hook Box?+
Whitetip reef sharks, grey reef sharks and silvertip sharks are all recorded here, along with dogtooth tuna. Hawksbill turtles, fusiliers and lobsters fill out the rest of the species list.
Sources
- Bilhifeyshi (Hook Box) - Scubago — Scubago
More dive sites in Fuvahmulah
Sea fans from 14 m to 35 m, with macro tucked into the overhangs
Drift
A brief, powerful drift where threshers and hammerheads come out of the blue
Wall
A thresher cleaning station at 35 m below the island's old harbour
Reef
The world's largest known tiger shark aggregation, in 12 m of water
Similar dives elsewhere
Wall from 4 m to past 40 m, straight off Kuramathi
Cleaning stations along the top reef of an 8 to 30 m wall
Sharks called in over a wall that slopes past 40 m
Easy wall from a 5-8 m reef top down past 30 m