This seamount in the Vatu-I-Ra channel is a true hotspot of marine life. Its peak reaches about 2 meters below the surface
and the walls drop down to what feels like infinity. On these walls we found up to 60% live coral coverage with an overall good state of health. In places the
corals were competing fiercely for space.
We identified Porites, Montipora, Acropora, Pavona, Leptoseris, Oxypora, Pocillopora, Lobophyllia, Symphyllia, Favia, Goniastrea,
Montastrea, Fungia, Diploastrea, Podabacia and Favites.
Also there were many leather corals, Dendronephthya soft
corals, wire corals and many different types of sea anemones competing for space. The pelagic marine life was just as diverse and abundant.
Besides the healthy population of small reef fish we saw several silver tip, white tip and gray reef sharks, 3 hawksbill turtles, dogtooth tunas,
schools of jacks, angelfish, parrot fish and a large school of barracudas.
On this
seamount we found very little marine
life compared to the hotspot Mount Mutiny . There were a few small reef fish but very few larger or predatory fish.
The mount
exposes a great coral wall and a reef flat of mostly sand with some patches of hard coral. On the wall we identified
many different coral genera: Symphillia,
Echinopora, Porites, Acropora, Pocillopora, Lobophilia, Pavona, Leptoria,
Coscinarea, Favites, Diploastrea, Fungia, Herpolitha, Halomitra, Oxypora, etc. On the reef flat there were significant amounts of coralline
and macroalgae. There was an entire field of recently dead
corals of the genera Acropora, Pocillopora and a foliaceous
coral (probably Pavona) that were
completely overgrown by algae.
