Coral Garden


The Coral Garden diving site is one of our more requested sites. It is good for both diving and snorkeling as it's location gives it protection from the prevailing wind and seas most of the year.

This site has gone through many changes over the years. From boaters, fishermen and even dive operators dragging their anchors through the coral and shipwrecks to the fury of Mother Nature, but one of the biggest changes came in 1996 when depth charges scattered about the area from a WWII sunken Japanese submarine chaser were all of a sudden the most dangerous things in the world.

Due to misinformation, some overzealous people, at the time, in charge of the Navy's EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Unit in Guam and poor leadership of our then Governor - Frolian C. Tenorio, EMO (Emergency Management Office) and others in charge of their respective offices led to the almost total destruction of this area when ten depth charges were detonated in a single blast.

What was once considered one of the most pristine coral sites around the island was a mere skeleton of it's former self. Although it will never be as it was when we first saw it shortly after arriving on Rota in 1986 it has made a bit of a comeback even though some of our typhoons and super typhoons make a corals growth production very difficult. It is still a nice site, especially if you started diving in New Jersey.

The recovery of this site will hopefully get some pressure relief as it is a designated "Sasanhaya Fish Reserve."

If you are very observant you can see many varieties of the 254 species of hard corals that are found in our waters.


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