Madang & the North Coast · Papua New Guinea · Wall · Drift
Barracuda Point
Hooded epaulette sharks tucked under ledges on a current-fed wall
Barracuda Point is the east corner of Pig Island, where two reefs drop off into deep water. The current runs along this stretch of reef and makes it a magnet for big fish, so it is dived as a drift past schooling trevally and barracuda.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Madang & the North Coast and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
Divers drift along the wall between 5 and 30 m. The current-washed reef carries large gorgonians, soft corals, whip corals and barrel sponges, and schools of trevally, barracuda, snappers, sweetlips, fusiliers, batfish and surgeonfish work the edge, sometimes joined by bumphead parrotfish. The ledges are worth checking for a hooded epaulette shark. Out in the blue, silvertips, great hammerheads and mobula rays turn up on occasion.
Marine life and season
- Trevally & jacks
- Barracuda
- Reef fish swarms
- Reef sharks
- Hammerheads
- Mobula rays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
Season follows Madang & the North Coast: Diving runs all year; May to October brings the heaviest rain and run-off that clouds the sites nearest the mainland.
Dive videos
Scuba Diving 'Barracuda Point' Papua New Guinea · Jason Carseldine on YouTube
Sources
- Barracuda Point — DivePlanit
- Barracuda Point — Niugini Dive Adventures
- Dive Sites — Niugini Dive Adventures
More dive sites in Madang & the North Coast
Wreck
Machine guns still in the nose, midships and tail of a 1943 bomber
Wreck
Office items and big refrigerators still sitting in the holds
Wreck
The remains of a truck still lying in the cargo hold
Channel & pass
A wall of big-eye trevally closing around divers on the turning tide
Seamount
Grey reef sharks on patrol and hammerheads in the deeper water
Wall
Silvertip sharks on a sheer wall a few metres from shore
Similar dives elsewhere
Hundreds of batfish and jacks holding in the current
The corner where Cabilao's sharks are seen, wall to plateau to wall
Mobula rays pass in formations up to 25 strong.
Whip corals along a drifted wall, with bumpheads passing