German Channel

German Channel is a natural and dredged passage cutting through the reef near Ngemelis in Palau's Rock Islands, originally widened for ship traffic during German colonial phosphate operations in the early 1900s. It remains one of Palau's most reliable spots for manta rays, which gather at cleaning stations along the channel's coral outcrops, and it is rated a beginner dive reaching a maximum depth of around 25 metres. Divers here have also reported fusiliers, garden eels, sea turtles, trevally, and wrasse moving through the channel and surrounding reef. Current can still run through the channel with the tide, so many operators time entries to the flow even though the site itself is considered approachable for less experienced divers.

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

• Sea turtleSea turtleReported here · unconfirmed
• FusilierFusilierReported here · unconfirmed
• Garden eelGarden eelReported here · unconfirmed
• Moorish IdolZanclus cornutusReported here · unconfirmed
• Lined BristletoothCtenochaetus striatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Saddle ButterflyfishChaetodon ephippiumReported here · unconfirmed
• Pyramid ButterflyfishHemitaurichthys polylepisReported here · unconfirmed
• Pinktail TriggerfishMelichthys viduaReported here · unconfirmed
• Regal AngelfishPygoplites diacanthusReported here · unconfirmed
• Black-and-white SnapperMacolor nigerReported here · unconfirmed
• Redbreast Maori WrasseCheilinus fasciatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Manta rayManta rayConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
• WrasseWrasseReported here · unconfirmed
• TrevallyTrevallyReported here · unconfirmed