“Dauahk Wall”
This drift-dive follows the outer barrier reef wall north of Kepidauen Dauahk. Things to see here include eagle rays, napoleon wrasse, gray reef sharks, and schools of dog-tooth tuna. 10-40 meters. Best on an in-coming tide. Advanced.
“Dauahk Bridge”
This is one of the best dive spots on Pohnpei, following the reef bridge across the mouth of Kepidauen Dauahk. It offers the same things as the “Palikir Pass Bridge”, but at less depth. Large congregations of gray reef sharks, spotted eagle rays, and massive schools of black snappers, red snappers, and barracuda are regularly encountered. The snappers mate in late summer and early fall. Down to 36 meters. Best at 18-24 meters on an in-coming tide. Advanced.
“Pehleng Wall”
This drift dive-along the outer wall north of Kepidauen Pehleng is notable for gray reef sharks and the less-common silver-tip sharks, huge napoleon wrasse, schools of jacks, lionfish, and an abundance of soft coral. 10-40 meters. Best on an in-coming tide. Advanced.
“Pehleng Corner”
This spot is located at the prominent southern corner of Kepidauen Pehleng. Commonly seen are sweetlips, lionfish, and huge schools of both black and red snappers, jacks, and sometimes tuna. The reef wall is encrusted with nudibranchs and anemones. 6-40 meters. Best on an out-going tide. Advanced.
“Kehpara Wall”
This is a drift-dive along the outer reef wall north of Dauen Kehpara within the boundaries of the Kehpara Marine Protected Area (MPA). Sights include wrasse, jacks, groupers, barracudas, silver-tip sharks, and both black-tip and white-tip reef sharks. Lobsters, giant clams (tridacna), conchs, sea fans, and sponges are also prevalent. The island to the south, nicknamed “Black Coral,” gets its name from a variety of purplish, branching coral found in the area. This is one of the primary spawning grounds for local groupers. 6-37 meters. Best on an in-coming tide. Intermediate.
- Entering the MPA requires a permit. Visit our MPA page for details. Kehpara MPA is closed to snorkeling and diving from January 1 to June 30 each year.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We’d like to extend a big kalahngan to Mike Viti, John Ranahan, and Karino Olpet for sharing their in-depth, first-hand knowledge about SCUBA diving on Pohnpei — without which this page could not have been created. Images licensed from www.shutterstock.com.