Shark Reef
Conditions
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Marine forecast via Copernicus Marine. Score is a rule-based guide from swell/wind vs. the site's exposure — always dive your own assessment.
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About this site
Shark Reef, in Ras Mohammed National Park, Egypt, is ranked among the world's top ten dive sites. Together with Yolanda Reef it forms a dramatic terrain that rises from the abyss to the surface, and the wall below reaches down to 800 m. It is normally dived as a drift, starting at Shark Reef and heading toward Yolanda, and it finishes at the remnants of the Yolanda wreck.
A swift entry matters, so you do not drift on the surface and miss the wall descent. Currents from the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez meet here and bring nutrients, so the reef carries Acropora, brain, fire, broccoli and pulsing polyp corals. Huge schools of snappers, batfish, barracuda, unicorn fish and jackfish hover along the steep wall, at their peak in July and August, and large pelagic fish often appear in the open blue.
The currents keep changing through the dive, giving a roller-coaster ride around the vast pinnacles. This is a demanding dive and not for the faint-hearted. Water temperature is 21 to 27°C.
Marine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
Manta rayManta rayReported here · unconfirmed
Whale SharkRhincodon typusReported here · unconfirmed
Whale sharkWhale sharkReported here · unconfirmed
SnapperSnapperConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
Moray eelMoray eelReported here · unconfirmed
Eagle rayEagle rayConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
Napoleon (humphead) wrasseNapoleon (humphead) wrasseConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
Bluespotted Fantail RayTaeniura lymmaReported here · unconfirmed
Giant MorayGymnothorax javanicusReported here · unconfirmed
Red Sea AnemonefishAmphiprion bicinctusReported here · unconfirmed
Masked PufferArothron diadematusReported here · unconfirmed
Freckled HawkfishParacirrhites forsteriReported here · unconfirmed
Bluespine UnicornfishNaso unicornisReported here · unconfirmed
Blue TriggerfishPseudobalistes fuscusReported here · unconfirmed
Napoleon WrasseCheilinus undulatusReported here · unconfirmed
Rusty ParrotfishScarus ferrugineusReported here · unconfirmed
LionfishLionfishReported here · unconfirmed
UnicornfishUnicornfishReported here · unconfirmed
GrouperGrouperReported here · unconfirmed
OctopusOctopusReported here · unconfirmed
TunaTunaReported here · unconfirmed
BarracudaBarracudaConfirmed present · 4 independent sources
BatfishBatfishConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
Hammerhead sharkHammerhead sharkReported here · unconfirmed
AngelfishAngelfishReported here · unconfirmed
Indian Bullethead ParrotfishChlorurus sordidusObserved near here · iNaturalist
Klunzinger's WrasseThalassoma rueppelliiObserved near here · iNaturalist
Red Sea Raccoon ButterflyfishChaetodon fasciatusObserved near here · iNaturalist
Sohal SurgeonfishAcanthurus sohalObserved near here · iNaturalist
Durable tips from divers — access, hazards, marine life, facilities. For day-of conditions, use the report tool in the conditions card above.
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