School of twospot snappers in the Dampier Strait, Raja Ampat

Sardine Reef

Dampier Strait, Raja Ampat, Indonesia

  • Advanced
  • Moderate current
  • Best Oct to Apr

Sardine Reef is an advanced dive site in Dampier Strait, Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Dives run from 5 to 30 m, with moderate current. The best months are October to April. Marine life here includes snapper, white-tip reef shark and batfish. 3 dive shops on Scubalo run trips here.

Updated

Conditions at Sardine Reef

Max depth
25 m
Depth range
5–30 m
Current
Moderate
Level
Advanced
Depth profile: dives from 5 m to 30 m.

Safety

Current
Usually moderate, sometimes strong.

About Sardine Reef

Sardine Reef is a small, oval reef in open water east of Kri in the Dampier Strait, from about 5 to 30 metres, packed with schooling fusiliers, snappers, sweetlips and bannerfish, hunted by trevally and barracuda. Reef sharks and wobbegongs are regulars.

Sardine Reef is a small, oval reef rising from open water east of Kri, in the Dampier Strait. Its gentle slopes top out at about 5 metres and run down to around 30 metres, covered in hard corals, sea fans and whip corals.

The name is a little misleading: the fish here are less sardines than everything else, packed so densely that divers talk of fish thunder, the rumble of a huge school turning at once. Fusiliers, snappers, sweetlips, damselfish and bannerfish crowd the reef, while trevally and barracuda hunt through them. Grey reef, whitetip and blacktip sharks patrol, wobbegongs rest on the bottom, and a school of bumphead parrotfish often passes in the shallows.

The current that feeds all this is usually moderate and sometimes strong, so the dive suits divers comfortable drifting in moving water.

When to dive Sardine Reef

Best months: January, February, March, April, October, November, December.

Season

Right now
Year round
Dived all year.
Peak season
October to April.

Marine life at Sardine Reef

What divers report seeing here. Tap one to see where else it turns up.

Type of diving

Location

Questions about Sardine Reef

Are there sardines at Sardine Reef?

Not many. The name comes from its dense schools of fusiliers, snappers, sweetlips and damselfish, packed as tightly as sardines.

What can you see at Sardine Reef?

Huge schools of reef fish, trevally and barracuda hunting them, grey reef, whitetip and blacktip sharks, wobbegongs and bumphead parrotfish.

How deep is Sardine Reef?

The reef tops out at about 5 metres and slopes down to around 30 metres.

Who can dive Sardine Reef?

Divers comfortable drifting in moving water. The current is usually moderate and can be strong.

When is the best time to dive Sardine Reef?

Raja Ampat is dived all year. October to April is the peak season, with calmer seas.

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Dive shops that go to Sardine Reef

3 shops in the directory run trips here.

Dive sites near Sardine Reef

All dive sites in Raja Ampat

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