Biosphere ReserveReserva de la Biosfera

Fakarava

Polynesia (Tuamotu)Declared in 20061,670 km²

One of the best places in the world to see the largest documented aggregation of grey reef sharks during their annual spawning

Area

1,670 km²

Declared in

2006

Region

Polynesia (Tuamotu)

Ocean Biosphere Reserve

Plan your visit

Area: 1,670 km²

Highlight

One of the best places in the world to see the largest documented aggregation of grey reef sharks during their annual spawning

Made a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2006, the atoll of Fakarava in the Tuamotu archipelago protects one of the best-preserved coral reef passes in Polynesia. Its South Pass is celebrated among divers worldwide for holding the largest documented aggregation of grey reef sharks during their seasonal spawning, with hundreds of animals gathered at once in a relatively narrow stretch of channel — a concentration of marine predators that has made the atoll a benchmark natural laboratory for studying shark breeding behaviour.

Location

See on the interactive map

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2 dive sites within 300 km are also shown.

71 species documented in Fakarava

7 Mammals6 Birds2 Reptiles8 Cartilaginous fish22 Fish2 Bivalvia5 Anthozoa2 Cephalopoda4 Gastropoda6 Malacostraca2 Asteroidea2 Polychaeta1 Turbellaria2 Holothuroidea

At conservation risk:Napoleón,Tiburón gris de arrecife,Tiburón limón,Tortuga verde,Almeja gigante,Caballito de mar amarillo,Cangrejo ladrón,Chucho pintado,Manta de arrecife,Pepino de mar (sandfish),Pez vela del Indo-Pacífico,Tiburón oceánico de puntas blancasand 3 more