Fitzroy Island

Fitzroy Island sits a short boat ride off Cairns on the Great Barrier Reef, a continental island fringed by coral rather than a coral cay. Its surrounding waters are part of the inner reef system and are typically accessed from the island itself or on day trips out of Cairns. Diving here reaches a maximum depth of around 40 metres over a reef bottom and is rated advanced, with strong currents reported at times. Sea turtles are a regular sighting, and divers have also reported clownfish, damselfish, parrotfish, reef sharks, trevally, and even whales passing through.

Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.

• Sea turtleSea turtleConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
• Reef sharkReef sharkReported here · unconfirmed
• Goldstripe ButterflyfishChaetodon aureofasciatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Blackeye ThicklipHemigymnus melapterusReported here · unconfirmed
• Barred RabbitfishSiganus doliatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Green Sea TurtleChelonia mydasReported here · unconfirmed
• Vagabond ButterflyfishChaetodon vagabundusReported here · unconfirmed
• Sixband AngelfishPomacanthus sexstriatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Lemon DamselPomacentrus moluccensisReported here · unconfirmed
• Rainford's ButterflyfishChaetodon rainfordiReported here · unconfirmed
• Spanish Flag SnapperLutjanus carponotatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Sixbar WrasseThalassoma hardwickeReported here · unconfirmed
• DamselfishDamselfishReported here · unconfirmed
• ParrotfishParrotfishReported here · unconfirmed
• ClownfishClownfishReported here · unconfirmed
• WhaleWhaleReported here · unconfirmed
• TrevallyTrevallyReported here · unconfirmed