Marine Life

The Red Sea holds one of the world's last healthy dugong populations. Abu Dabbab is the most reliable site on earth.

Resident coastal pods from El Gouna to Marsa Alam. Bow-riders, reef hunters, and the most reliably encountered cetacean in the Red Sea.

A resident pod of over 100 dolphins calls Sataya home year-round. The finest dolphin encounter in the Red Sea.

The largest rays in the Red Sea, spanning up to 5.5 metres. Cleaning stations at Fury Shoals draw them in reliably.

Graceful and distinctive, white spots on a dark back, long whip tail. Often seen in small groups cruising sandy flats.

Jackson Reef in the Straits of Tiran is the most reliable school site. Elphinstone's north plateau and the Brothers complete the picture.

Once the most abundant large oceanic shark on earth, now critically endangered. The Brothers and Daedalus remain strongholds.

Recognised by its extraordinary elongated tail fin, used to stun prey. A rare but unforgettable deep-water encounter.

Widespread across the Red Sea, nesting on remote southern beaches, feeding on seagrass beds from Abu Dabbab to Wadi El Gemal.

The most photographed structure on the Red Sea reef wall. A single colony can spread two metres wide, filtering the current for two centuries.

The most architecturally striking coral on the reef, the maze-like grooves of its surface have been forming since before your grandparents were born.

The host of the clownfish. A single anemone can live for a century, and the partnership it maintains with its resident fish is one of the most studied relationships in marine biology.

The most vivid organism on the Red Sea wall. A tree-shaped soft coral that blooms only when current runs, and draws its extraordinary colour from no light at all.

The largest moray eel in the Red Sea, up to 3 metres. Present on virtually every reef. More curious than aggressive when undisturbed.

The largest reef fish in the Red Sea, reaching 2 metres and 190kg. Curious and approachable, a defining encounter on any Red Sea dive.

The most commonly seen octopus on the Red Sea reef, active by day, capable of 177 colour and texture changes per hour, and considerably more intelligent than most animals its size.

The largest cuttlefish in the Red Sea, named for Egypt. Master of camouflage, colour and texture change in under a second. Curious enough to hold position and watch a diver.

Spectacularly venomous and utterly fearless. Found hovering at the entrance to every significant wreck and reef overhang in the Red Sea.

The most commonly encountered squid on Red Sea reefs, hunts in coordinated groups, communicates through light and colour, and can display two completely different patterns simultaneously on opposite sides of its body.

A reef forager in a maze of orange lines. Small and busy by day, and unexpectedly bold near its nest, where even a fish this size will hold its ground.

Not a shrimp, a stomatopod with a strike faster than a bullet and the most complex visual system of any animal on earth. Do not handle.

The most recognisable cleaner shrimp on the Red Sea reef, vivid red-and-white bands, antennae longer than its body, paired for life at a fixed cleaning station.

A flat, white-and-red-spotted anomuran that lives on sea anemones, filter feeding alongside clownfish, invisible to most divers who are looking at the fish.

A crab the size of a thumbnail that carries a live sea anemone in each claw, simultaneously weapon, feeding tool, and something science took years to explain.

The deep-water night hunter. A specific discipline, late departure, deep rigs, long waits, and the possibility of the largest fish you will ever catch.

The most spectacular fish in the Red Sea. The sail erects on the strike. The first jump is a reminder of what the ocean is capable of.

One of the fastest fish in the ocean, capable of 75 km/h. Year-round in the Red Sea, with peaks November through March on the offshore banks.

The most colourful fish in the ocean, iridescent greens and golds that fade within minutes of death. Season March through October.

The most powerful fish on the outer reef, kilo for kilo, nothing in the Red Sea fights harder. Resident on every major offshore pinnacle.

The torpedo. A metre of silver muscle present on virtually every reef in the Red Sea, from the shallows to open water.

The Ansh, the largest of the jacks in the Red Sea. Powerful, fast-running, and associated with offshore structure. One of the most demanding sport fish on the coast.

The razor-toothed mackerel of the Red Sea, fast, predatory, and year-round. Strikes hard on trolled lures and wire leaders are not optional.

The apex predator of the reef system, aggressive, intelligent, and capable of destroying tackle that should have held. Year-round on outer reef walls.

Electric blue fins, blue-spotted body, schools that light up the reef wall at speed. The most visually striking trevally in the Red Sea.

The Shu'our, the most important food fish of the Egyptian Red Sea coast. Sandy flats, seagrass beds, reef edges. Night fishing at its best.

One of the most prized reef fish in the Egyptian Red Sea. A deep-bodied red predator of the outer reef wall, to 90cm. Known as the Bohar across the Red Sea coast.

The Sherifa, one of the most beautiful fish on the reef, and one of the most prized. The crescent tail marks it from across the water.

The Nagel, one of the most prized reef fish in the Red Sea. Striking red body, blue spots, resident on reef walls to 100 metres.