Lionfish Wall

Wall forming the southern tip of Yap's fringing reef, covered in daisy corals and crinoids and named for the lionfish in its crevices. It drops to about 40 m and slopes to a ledge below 60 m; where currents from both sides of the island meet just off the wall, mantas, eagle rays, turtles, sharks and tuna are common.

Facts

• Region: Micronesia – Yap, Pohnpei & Kosrae
• Area: Yap
• Depth: 5–30 m
• Level: intermediate
• Current: low
• Type: wall, drift
• Coordinates: 9.405, 138.115 (approximate)
• Highlights: lionfish, manta rays, eagle rays, hawksbill turtle, tuna, crinoids, leaf fish
• Permit: Yap's reefs and lagoon are held under customary village ownership, so diving needs the permission of the owning community, normally arranged by your dive operator. A 2017 conference presentation reported that operators pay villages access fees (e.g. US$300 per month for Goofnuw Channel, US$2 per diver at Stammtisch) and that other sites need permission but no payment. No official fee schedule could be found – ask your dive centre; the Yap Visitors Bureau can advise.
• Issuer / contact: Yap Visitors Bureau
  • Phone: +691 350 5005
  • Website: https://www.visityap.com
  • phone from the Yap State Government notice; visityap.com blocked automated access, no official email confirmed; other notices list 350-2298
• Unverified: Position is approximate: no published GPS was found; the pin only places the site on the right part of Yap's reef (dive centre site maps are not machine-readable). Ask the dive centre for the exact mooring.
• Tips: Keep to the recreational limit – the wall continues far below 40 m.

Sources

• https://mantaray.com/sites/lionfish-wall/
• https://mantaray.com/the-manta-blog/the-southern-walls-of-yap/