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Ocean Calling

Ocean Atlas · Pacific

Pacific

Fiji

Freediving over the soft and hard corals of Rainbow Reef, with turtles, reef sharks and rays.

Palms and flowers on Taveuni looking out to sea toward Matagi
Taveuni, looking toward Matagi island · Photo: Barry Peters, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Exploring

Ethics pass, with care. We found a way to visit this country that meets our animal-welfare standard, as long as we work with the right local operator. Checked by Ocean Calling on 29 Sep 2026. Sources: Opportunistic visitors: long-term behavioural response of bull sharks to food provisioning in Fiji, Brunnschweiler and Barnett, PLOS One, 2013; Fiji, Yasawa Islands: protecting an ecologically important manta ray habitat, Noonsite, 2024; Manta Project Fiji.

🧭 Travel advice, checked 30 Sep 2026. Australia's Smartraveller advises exercising normal safety precautions in Fiji. It notes opportunistic crime, cyclone season from November to April, flooding, and mosquito borne illness. The US State Department rates Fiji at Level 1, reissued 2 December 2024. Sources: Smartraveller travel advice, Fiji Advice differs by passport: check your own government before you plan.

FreedivingScubaSnorkellingMantasTurtles

Why Fiji

Around Taveuni and Viani Bay, freediving over the soft and hard corals of Rainbow Reef brings turtles, reef sharks and rays, with manta rays possible in season. We are also getting to know Pacific Harbour and Beqa Lagoon, Kadavu and the Great Astrolabe Reef, the Yasawa and Drawaqa Manta Channel, and Savusavu on Vanua Levu, for diving, snorkelling and freediving.

Conservation-led. Ocean Calling guests never chase, touch or bait animals.

FijiPapua New GuineaIndonesiaTimor-LesteVanuatuNew CaledoniaSolomon Is.New ZealandAustraliaKadavu and the Great Astrolabe Reef, FijiPacific Harbour and Beqa Lagoon, FijiSavusavu and Vanua Levu, FijiTaveuni and Viani Bay, FijiYasawa and Drawaqa Manta Channel, Fiji

When to go

May-Oct. Timing changes by place and by animal, so check each place below.

We have researched this place and keep learning about it. There is no trip here yet.

Our ethics check

Can we travel here ethically?

Ethics pass, with care

Good with the right operator. Here is how we choose.

In Beqa Lagoon, bull sharks have been hand fed for divers since 1999, and in the Drawaqa manta channel reports tell of snorkellers disturbing mantas and boats damaging coral. We love Fiji's soft coral reefs and choose natural reef days there, meet mantas only in very small groups without chasing, and do not join shark feeding dives.

Checked 29 Sep 2026. Places change, so we look again every year.

Sources for this check
Places we are exploring

Where in Fiji

Short notes from our research. Wildlife is never guaranteed.

Pacific Harbour and Beqa Lagoon

Exploring

A lagoon known for a baited shark dive. We share the story, but we do not offer or sell it.

Taveuni and Viani Bay

Exploring

Freediving over the soft and hard corals of Rainbow Reef, with turtles, reef sharks and rays.

🤿 In the water: Soft and hard corals, Reef fish, Turtles, Reef sharks and rays, Manta rays (seasonal, possible)

When: Jun-Jul. June and July fall in the drier season and the soft-coral peak, within the manta season.

Kadavu and the Great Astrolabe Reef

Exploring

We are still getting to know this place.

Savusavu and Vanua Levu

Exploring

We are still getting to know this place.

Yasawa and Drawaqa Manta Channel

Exploring

We are still getting to know this place.

When: May-Oct. Manta rays gather to feed in the narrow Drawaqa channel between May and October.

Rules and fees: Manta rays are protected in Fiji, so every manta swim is with a local guide. We keep a gentle distance, avoid loud splashes and let the mantas come to us.

Animals

Animals recorded in Fiji

Tap an animal to learn how it lives, where it travels and how to meet it respectfully.

Reef manta ray gliding over a sandy lagoonReef manta rayMobula alfrediSeen in 20 countries in the AtlasVulnerableTiger shark with clear stripes swimming over a reefTiger sharkGaleocerdo cuvierSeen in 47 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedTwo blacktip reef sharks swimming over sunlit sand in turquoise waterBlacktip reef sharkCarcharhinus melanopterusSeen in 38 countries in the AtlasVulnerableWall of grey reef sharks cruising in blue waterGrey reef sharkCarcharhinus amblyrhynchosSeen in 33 countries in the AtlasEndangeredWhitetip reef sharks resting stacked in a reef creviceWhitetip reef sharkTriaenodon obesusSeen in 43 countries in the AtlasVulnerableBull shark swimming in clear blue water off Quintana Roo, MexicoBull sharkCarcharhinus leucasSeen in 30 countries in the AtlasVulnerableWhite-spotted eagle rays gliding over coral at Heron Island, Great Barrier ReefSpotted eagle ray (ocellated eagle ray)Aetobatus ocellatusSeen in 28 countries in the AtlasEndangeredBanded sea krait with yellow lip rising over dark sandBanded sea krait (yellow-lipped sea krait)Laticauda colubrinaSeen in 18 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernBlue-lipped sea krait with blue and black bands on sandBlue-lipped sea kraitLaticauda laticaudataSeen in 12 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernPale reef stonefish resting between anemones in KwajaleinReef stonefishSynanceia verrucosaSeen in 25 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernRed lionfish with spread fins over sand in Dauin, PhilippinesLionfish (red and common lionfish)Pterois volitans and Pterois milesSeen in 80 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernWell camouflaged scorpionfish on dark sand in Lembeh StraitScorpionfishScorpaenopsis speciesSeen in 22 countries in the AtlasVaries by speciesTitan triggerfish swimming over a reef slope in blue waterTitan triggerfishBalistoides viridescensSeen in 40 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernPicasso triggerfish with painted pattern over sand in the MaldivesPicasso triggerfish (lagoon triggerfish)Rhinecanthus aculeatusSeen in 41 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernClown triggerfish with big white spots over reef in the Coral SeaClown triggerfishBalistoides conspicillumSeen in 29 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernDay octopus beside a coral head on a sandy Red Sea reefDay octopusOctopus cyaneaSeen in 35 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHumpback whale swimming close with long pectoral finHumpback whaleMegaptera novaeangliaeSeen in 87 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTwo spinner dolphins swimming over sand in clear waterSpinner dolphinStenella longirostrisSeen in 66 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernGiant trevally swimming close to a coral head, with small reef fish in blue water behind itGiant trevallyCaranx ignobilisSeen in 33 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernGreen turtle resting on the reef, shell and head pattern in sharp detailGreen turtleChelonia mydasSeen in 103 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHawksbill turtle swimming, pointed beak in profileHawksbill turtleEretmochelys imbricataSeen in 88 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredSperm whale mother raising her fluke beside her calf off DominicaSperm whalePhyseter macrocephalusSeen in 114 countries in the AtlasVulnerableLarge school of chevron barracuda in deep blue waterChevron barracudaSphyraena qenieSeen in 19 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernScalloped hammerhead shark cruising in deep blue Red Sea waterScalloped hammerheadSphyrna lewiniSeen in 57 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredSchool of bigeye trevally swirling near the seabed at AmedBigeye trevallyCaranx sexfasciatusSeen in 48 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHumphead wrasse swimming over a coral reef in Raja AmpatHumphead wrasse (Napoleon wrasse)Cheilinus undulatusSeen in 34 countries in the AtlasEndangeredSpotted garden eels rising from sand, black spots clearly visibleSpotted garden eelHeteroconger hassiSeen in 19 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernBlue-spotted ribbontail ray resting on sand, seen from aboveBlue-spotted ribbontail rayTaeniura lymmaSeen in 22 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernGreat barracuda cruising in open blue water, showing jagged teethGreat barracudaSphyraena barracudaSeen in 84 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernEstuary seahorse with textured orange skin on dark sandCommon (estuary) seahorseHippocampus kudaSeen in 25 countries in the AtlasVulnerableSilvertip shark swimming in open blue waterSilvertip sharkCarcharhinus albimarginatusSeen in 28 countries in the AtlasVulnerableTawny nurse sharks swimming in sunlit Maldives waterTawny nurse sharkNebrius ferrugineusSeen in 15 countries in the AtlasVulnerableZebra shark resting on sandy reef floor, spotted body and ridgesZebra sharkStegostoma tigrinumSeen in 17 countries in the AtlasEndangeredBluestreak cleaner wrasse with black stripe and blue tailBluestreak cleaner wrasseLabroides dimidiatusSeen in 51 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSicklefin lemon shark swimming over coral among butterflyfish in French PolynesiaSicklefin lemon sharkNegaprion acutidensSeen in 11 countries in the AtlasEndangeredBlacktip shark swimming in green water in the GalápagosBlacktip sharkCarcharhinus limbatusSeen in 49 countries in the AtlasVulnerableShortfin mako shark at Condor Bank in the North Atlantic, AzoresShortfin makoIsurus oxyrinchusSeen in 40 countries in the AtlasEndangeredWedge-tailed shearwaters resting togetherWedge-tailed shearwaterArdenna pacificaSeen in 46 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernMasked booby on Ascension IslandMasked boobySula dactylatraSeen in 80 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernRed-tailed tropicbird in Glendowie, Auckland, New Zealand, iNaturalist research-grade observationRed-tailed tropicbirdPhaethon rubricaudaSeen in 28 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernBlack noddy perched in a shrub on Tern Island, French Frigate ShoalsBlack noddyAnous minutusSeen in 37 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernGiant clam on the reef at Michaelmas Cay, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, AustraliaGiant clamTridacna gigasSeen in 12 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredAdult brown booby standing on a rock with its bill open against blue sky, PrincipeBrown boobySula leucogasterSeen in 104 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernClose view of a red-footed booby head with blue, pink and red bill and throat skin among green leavesRed-footed boobySula sulaSeen in 91 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHuge flock of sooty shearwaters flying low over the sea beside a rocky coastSooty shearwaterArdenna griseaSeen in 53 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedGreat frigatebird in flight, with long angled wings and a forked tailGreat frigatebirdFregata minorSeen in 44 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernLesser frigatebird soaring against a blue sky with its wings spread and tail forkedLesser frigatebirdFregata arielSeen in 39 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernShort-tailed shearwater resting on the open seaShort-tailed shearwaterArdenna tenuirostrisSeen in 24 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTropical shearwater flying low over blue waves, with dark wings and white underpartsTropical shearwaterPuffinus bailloniSeen in 15 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTahiti petrel in flight over the sea, dark above with a white bellyTahiti petrelPseudobulweria rostrataSeen in 15 countries in the AtlasNear Threatened

Read before you go

Whales and wildlife ethicsWhere to See Tiger Sharks in the World, HonestlyRead ↗
Dreaming of Fiji?

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