Yap's Reefs and Wall Dives

Yap's reefs and walls are teeming with a myriad of tropical marine life and specimens. On the eastern side of the island group, which is also the windward side, the reefs are sloping at an angle, with a plateau at about 30 ft. / 10 m and progressing deeper to several hundreds of feet deep. The walls are on the southern and western sides of Yap, with the top of the reef between 10 and 30 ft./3 and 10m and plunging vertically to several hundred feet. The visibility along the outer reefs usually exceeds 100 ft./30m on a daily basis.

Channel entrances are also a favorite with BTR's dive guides. Done on an incoming tidal flow, the current entices schooling reef fish and larger predators alike. Some of these locations are great for macro photography too!

Although most guests want to see mantas first and foremost, our reefs and walls are pretty fantastic dives as well, and most folks are glad they planned an extra day or two to dive some of these "little-known" treasures. Sharks are quite common sights on the outer reef, as are schooling reef fish, moray eels, turtles, stingrays and pods of dolphins and pilot whales in the deeper water en route to these sites.

Rainbow Reef--Home of the Mating Mandarinfish!

Every evening around sunset our boats head out for a five minute boat ride to the sheltered lee of an island within Yap's vast lagoon to witness a rare event: the mating ritual of the Mandarinfish. These small dragonets live in the hard finger corals in the shallows. Divers hover above these coral heads, peering down among the branches and soon the mandarinfish become active, with the larger males chasing the smaller females in hopes of finding a willing mate. Once a female agrees, the two fish join together, rise out of the corals, and then separate in a quick flash with the release of eggs and sperm coming together and settling amongst the corals. Divers waiting patiently can capture some stunning images and video.