Flatworms
Pohnpei Marine Life
Pohnpei is a few hundred miles west of the Marshall Islands. It is a high island
surrounded (mostly) by a barrier reef enclosing a lagoon filled with shallow
coral reefs and small islands. The lagoon tends to be a bit turbid from
run-off from the high island, so much of the diving takes place in passes in
the barrier reef, where clear ocean water flows in and out with the changing
of the tides. Diving here makes an interesting change from the low atoll islands
in the Marshalls, and it is not too far away, so we've made a number of short
trips down there to seek and photograph slugs we don't find in the Marshalls.
This is by no means an exhaustive treatment of Pohnpei marine animals; we have
only scratched the surface of what is there. Likewise, it is hard to say too
much about the biology and distribution of species from several week-long trips.
All our diving in Pohnpei was through The Village Hotel, which is unfortunately
no longer in existence. It was a great place
to stay in general but also had its own dive shop that employed some eagle-eyed
dive guides. Just down the hill from the Village they kept up a small boat landing
with several long powerboats used for dive
trips and other excursions.
The Village also offered boat trips to the ancient ruins of Nan Madol and to a refreshing waterfall.
After a day on the water, you could sit back in the gazebo with a tall cold one and watch the scenery, waiting for another typically outstanding tropical sunset.
We enjoyed the Village Hotel so much that once it closed we never went back, so we cannot report on what the conditions are like on Pohnpei now.
Flatworms |
 Nudibranchs and Sea Slugs |
 Seastars |
 Fish |
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