THE MAJOR SCUBA DIVING SPOTS IN FRENCH POLYNESIA
THE
CORAL WALL
 Man
will probably never destroy the architecture of the
coral walls with their vertiginous drops, but the fauna
there is threatened everywhere: one does not count any
more the areas where the gorgonians, animal colonies of
these biotopes, are dying, victims of diseases which are
not yet understood perfectly. Are the colorful walls
becoming long black shrouds without life?
THE
PASSAGE
Located
opposite at a river, the passage is the link between the
lagoon and the ocean. By its alternate water circulation
(entering current, outgoing current), it is the lung of
a tropical island, and for fish, it is the ideal pantry
thanks to all that it carts. Unfortunately, with the
expansion of the little or not controlled modernization,
the crystal passes serve more and more as... dumps. When
the current is outgoing, it is indeed trying to take
with it all the refuse of the surrounding villages... |
THE
POND AT KOPARA
On
the atolls develops an extraordinary marine biotope, the
pond at Kopara. The brackish water of this lagoon is
renewed by the storms, which flood the low coral grounds
regularly. The pond at Kopara is a unique marine system
in which milkfish (Chanos chanos) take refuge, able to
survive in this oxygen poor environment during months,
by grazing the microorganisms developing in the mud of
these lagoons. Unfortunately, these ponds are used more
and more, like the Passage, as... dumps.
THE
WRECK
 If
you don’t want any, you’ll get some and of the
polluting kind – such as the tanker Erika in Brittany.
If you want them, the public authorities don’t
understand the importance of a wreck to a lot of marine
animals, from the small nudibranchs to the giant loach.
In sandy sectors, wrecks however can make it possible to
create true oasis of life, under the condition that
certain precautions are taken, such as the complete
removal of all oil and fuel remains.
THE
CAVE
Since
Platon, one knows the merits of them. Under water, these
natural " cellars " are true refuges for
species which would be threatened too much in the open (squill
fish, shrimps, lobsters, etc). Unfortunately using scuba
gear, poaching the caves formerly so rich in fauna are
becoming depleted more and more. A headlight, a copra
bag, a pair of gloves, and 20 kilos of shellfish are
collected in a few minutes, with the contempt of the
payments and the life.
THE
FAULTS
In
a coral reef, it is used literally as elevator; the dead
corals torn off at the top of the reef fall down to the
bottom in these faults, while the fish and the shellfish
(and even shells) make use of it to go up towards the
surface at night and to regain quieter zones during the
day. The fault, thanks to the quasi permanent darkness
which reigns in it, allows the blooming of forms of life
which do not like the light or the currents: they are
the kingdom of the splendid soft corals, that a the
touch of hand can destroy...
THE
“HOA”
The
" hoa ", on coral islands, is a false passage,
unusable for a boat, but which allows the circulation of
water between the ocean and the lagoon. This true
irrigation system of the lagoons is unfortunately very
fragile: many animals use these shallow “hoa”
(generally 50 cm to 1 m) to circulate between the sea
and the lagoon, but the increasing human population know
well of these passages and take undiscriminating
advantage in catching those migrating animals.
THE
FRINGING REEF
 When
a volcanic island emerges, the first organisms to come
to attach themselves on to it are the corals, which
build, over millenniums, a true pavement of limestone
around the island, rich in cavities, hollows and other
favorable locations. The perfect breeding ground for
life (small fish, mollusks, shells). Unfortunately,
wastewaste discharged destroy these fringing reefs and,
sometimes, developers do not hesitate to use dynamite,
to make space for artificial sandy beaches favored by
tourists.
THE
PEARL FARM
The
pearl farm is an artificial world of silence, of calms
and cleanliness. It represents the intelligent marriage
between humans and nature. If the first attacks or
pollutes the second, all its richness – the pearls
will be lost. Even simple anti-fouling on the hull of a
boat can destroy the mother-of-pearl, which require,
after having inserted a small core (the nucleus), more
than two years to produce a pearl – a proof that man
and the sea can get along, for the benefit of each other
!
THE
BLUE OPEN WATERS
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