Manihi Lagoon – Manihi (Tuamotu)

Site Overview

Manihi Lagoon is a calm and productive shallow environment that offers divers the opportunity to discover a diverse community of small marine creatures in the clear protected waters of the atoll lagoon system. The site is particularly renowned for its populations of seahorses and pipefish that inhabit the seagrass beds and coral rubble areas with their remarkable camouflage strategies, making them both challenging to find and incredibly rewarding to observe once located. Seahorses cling to seagrass blades and coral branches with their prehensile tails, their camouflaged bodies swaying gently with the water movement as they ambush tiny crustacean prey with their specialised suction-feeding technique. Pipefish drift among the coral rubble with their delicate elongated bodies, their subtle colouration providing excellent camouflage against the complex substrate. The lagoon supports a diverse nudibranch community with colourful sea slugs crawling across the substrate in search of their preferred food sponges and bryozoans. Shrimp gobies maintain their fascinating symbiotic partnerships with alpheid shrimp at numerous locations throughout the site, the tiny fish serving as lookout guards while the shrimp excavate their shared burrow. The extreme shallowness and calm conditions create ideal circumstances for extended macro photography sessions and for training dives where students can develop their observation skills in a comfortable environment.