![]() ![]() However, it is the armada of eerie wrecks that is undoubtedly the main attraction, with the remains of the famous aircraft carrier USS Saratoga, numerous other US military ships, as well as a couple of German and Japanese warships, all providing some of the best wreck diving in the world. On the outer side of the reef, even more gray reef and blacktip sharks can be found, as well as silky, oceanic whitetips, and the occasional hammerhead shark. Sharks abound in these waters, with numerous species including gray reef, silvertip, blacktip, whitetip, Indo-Pacific lemon, and even Galapagos sharks making an appearance in the sheltered waters of the inner lagoon. These fish, in turn, are prey for larger game fish such as tuna, snapper, barracuda, and trevally. #Bikini atoll full#Research suggests that coral started to regenerate as soon as 10 years after the initial nuclear blasts, and a lack of human interference has allowed marine life to recolonize to its full potential.Įvery wreck is covered in rope and soft corals, providing habitat for massive shoals of glittering glassfish and aggregations of marbled grouper and coral trout. A plethora of reef species attracts pelagic gamefish such as dogtooth tuna, barracuda and giant trevally, as well as huge numbers of grey reef sharks.Īgainst all odds, the marine life around Bikini Atoll is abundant with huge coral heads, hundreds of schools of fish, and a thriving ecosystem of the smallest reef fish through to large pelagic visitors. Minimal human interference during the last 70 years has allowed marine life not only to recover from the effects of radiation, but to flourish unhindered by fishing, pollution, and other human factors. However, cancellation of the atoll’s only flight service in 2008 led to the inevitable closure of all land-based tourist facilities, and today only a handful of caretakers reside on Bikini Atoll.įor wreck-diving enthusiasts, Bikini Atoll is now one of the most intriguing ship graveyards on the planet, with a so-called ‘nuclear fleet’ of 21 military wrecks offering exceptional diving in a pristine lagoon ecosystem. Finally, in 1996, the Bikini Council approved diving as a potential source of income for future resettlement attempts, and for a while, a shore-based dive operation offered a realistic alternative to visiting via liveaboard. The atoll itself is made up of 23 separate coral islands surrounding a central lagoon and is notorious as the site of over two dozen nuclear tests that were carried out by the US Government in the ‘40s and ‘50s.Īfter the island's original residents were evacuated in 1946, several attempts to recolonize Bikini over the succeeding decades proved unsuccessful. One of the most northerly atolls of the Marshall Islands, Bikini Atoll sits in the Central Pacific Ocean approximately 2,650 miles west of Hawaii. #Bikini atoll how to#Marine Life & Environment - Top Dive Spots - Diving Conditionsīest Time to Dive - How to Get There - How to Dive Malaysia ![]()
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