Kosrae · Micronesia · Wall · Reef
Shark Island
Sharks, barracuda and dog-tooth tuna along a current-swept wall
Shark Island is a wall dive on Kosrae's outer reef, with the crest sitting between 12 and 21 m before the face falls away into open water. Current can run strong enough that the local operator treats it as a site for experienced divers, and it is the traffic along that edge — sharks, barracuda, dog-tooth tuna — that divers come for.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Kosrae and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The dive works the reef crest and the wall below it. The top of the reef sits between 12 and 21 m depending on where you drop in, and the face falls away from there into open water. Current is the variable that shapes everything else: it can run strong, and the operator rates Shark Island for experienced divers on that basis, adding that it may make things difficult for underwater photographers.
The traffic along the edge is the reason to be here. Sharks head the common sightings, along with barracuda, eagle rays, napoleon wrasse, dog-tooth tuna and rainbow runners, with turtles and plenty of tropical fish over the reef itself. Closer in, the site holds crinoids, lobsters and other invertebrates, though on a day when the current is running there is not always time to stop and look at them.
Marine life and season
- Reef sharks
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Tuna
- Napoleon wrasse
- Eagle rays
- Sea turtles
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Kosrae: Divable year-round in a wet equatorial climate; Feb–Apr is generally driest and calmest, with little seasonal variation.
Know before you go
- Current here can run strong and the wall drops into open water; agree the direction with the guide before entry and stay close to the reef face if it picks up.
- Strong current makes camera handling awkward here; the operator notes the site may present challenges for underwater photographers, so be ready to dive it without the camera.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Shark Island?+
The top of the reef sits between 12 and 21 m and the wall drops away below that, so the dive is planned around the reef crest rather than the bottom. Current can run strong, which is why the site is rated for experienced divers.
Sources
- Kosrae Dive Sites — Kosrae Village Ecolodge & Dive Resort — Kosrae Village Ecolodge & Dive Resort
More dive sites in Kosrae
Reef
Very large hard corals inside 6 m, straight off the beach
Coral garden
Hard coral on a low-current reef top at 12 to 18 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Hook into the plateau lip and let the sharks stack up off the edge
Vertical outer-reef walls where eagle rays and mobulas pass.
Two facing walls a quarter mile apart, cut by a prehistoric river
Whip corals along a drifted wall, with bumpheads passing