Turtle Canyon

Turtle Canyon lies off Waikiki on the south shore of Oahu, a short boat ride from Honolulu harbor. The site consists of a series of low lava ridges and sandy channels a bit offshore, and its name reflects the green sea turtles that are commonly seen resting or feeding there. It's rated a beginner dive over a reef bottom, with a maximum depth of around 21 metres, keeping much of it accessible to less experienced divers and popular with introductory and certification dives out of Waikiki. Divers have also reported octopus and surgeonfish among the ridges. Conditions are typically calm, though visibility and current can shift with weather coming across the channel.

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
• Redlip ParrotfishScarus rubroviolaceusReported here · unconfirmed
• Pacific Orange-spine UnicornfishNaso lituratusReported here · unconfirmed
• Hawaiian Convict SurgeonfishAcanthurus triostegusReported here · unconfirmed
• Dusky SurgeonfishAcanthurus nigrofuscusReported here · unconfirmed
• Saddle WrasseThalassoma duperreyReported here · unconfirmed
• Pacific Sailfin TangZebrasoma veliferReported here · unconfirmed
• Lagoon TriggerfishRhinecanthus aculeatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Dark SurgeonfishAcanthurus blochiiReported here · unconfirmed
• Hawaiian Spotted TobyCanthigaster jactatorReported here · unconfirmed
• Blackspot SergeantAbudefduf sordidusReported here · unconfirmed
• SurgeonfishSurgeonfishReported here · unconfirmed
• OctopusOctopusReported here · unconfirmed