The healthiest reefs in the world? Well, it’s hard to say for certain, but there is no question that the fringing reefs and atolls of eastern Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands are among the loveliest and most intact anywhere on the planet. Diving and snorkeling here, we have swum over spectacular coral gardens with over 95% live coral cover, drifted beside towering walls thickly festooned with ruby red and sapphire blue soft corals, explored for little gems like nudibranchs and Christmas-tree worms, and simply hovered in the crystalline water, drinking in the incredible diversity and richness of life on the reef.
There are the fish! Anthias like swirls of living orange and blue snowflakes, gorgeous angelfish ducking in and out of the cover of the coral, trumpetfish patrolling for a meal and groupers waiting for their lunch to come to them. There are shoals of silver-blue fusiliers, tiger-striped and dotted sweetlips, aggressive little damselfish zealously protecting their chosen patch of algae and parrotfish hard at work converting bites of the reef into new sand for the golden beaches.
One way to judge the health of a coral reef is to assess the diversity of butterflyfish present. These small, lovely relatives of angelfish are very choosy about their food, each species focusing on just a few particular prey items. As a result there are many niches available for butterflies on a heathy reef, but if the reef is degraded and other creatures begin to decline, the butterflyfish drop out as well. By this measure, too, the reefs we have seen in Melanesia are among the most vibrant any of us have ever encountered. In only three dives, we have recorded at least 16 species! Shown above are three of these: the lovely Black-backed Butterflyfish, the striking and unmistakable Saddled Butterflyfish and the delicately patterned Speckled Butterflyfish. Soon we’ll be back in the water, looking for more species to add to our list and simply enjoying the beauty of the healthiest reefs in the world!
There are the fish! Anthias like swirls of living orange and blue snowflakes, gorgeous angelfish ducking in and out of the cover of the coral, trumpetfish patrolling for a meal and groupers waiting for their lunch to come to them. There are shoals of silver-blue fusiliers, tiger-striped and dotted sweetlips, aggressive little damselfish zealously protecting their chosen patch of algae and parrotfish hard at work converting bites of the reef into new sand for the golden beaches.
One way to judge the health of a coral reef is to assess the diversity of butterflyfish present. These small, lovely relatives of angelfish are very choosy about their food, each species focusing on just a few particular prey items. As a result there are many niches available for butterflies on a heathy reef, but if the reef is degraded and other creatures begin to decline, the butterflyfish drop out as well. By this measure, too, the reefs we have seen in Melanesia are among the most vibrant any of us have ever encountered. In only three dives, we have recorded at least 16 species! Shown above are three of these: the lovely Black-backed Butterflyfish, the striking and unmistakable Saddled Butterflyfish and the delicately patterned Speckled Butterflyfish. Soon we’ll be back in the water, looking for more species to add to our list and simply enjoying the beauty of the healthiest reefs in the world!
