Marine Life
The Durban reefs are home to large and varied amount of tropical fish. Both the Butterfly fish are common, along with Surgeon Fish, Goldies, Scorpion Fish and the ever friendly Box fish. The reefs are not under pressure from consistent scuba diving activity and therefore one will find that there is a strong concentration of fish on the reefs. Some exciting finds off the Bluff have been the Tiger Angel Fish and the unusual Pine Apple fish. The Tiger Angel Fish was discovered by local author Dennis King in 1984 off Natal and is believed to be endemic to the Kwa-Zulu Natal waters. The Harlequin Goldie (Goldie conneli)are found only on the wrecks of Kwa-Zulu Natal. The Harlequin Goldie is a relatively “new fish” in that local scientist Allan Connel discovered it in 1986.
Pelagic Fish are more prolific during the annual Sardine Run when large shoals of tuna, fusiliers and other game fish will be found patrolling the reef edge. In May, large Jellyfish are blown inshore by the prevailing South Westerly and make your precautionary safety stop interesting!
Turtles, Whale Sharks, Basking sharks, Bottlenose dolphins and sharks frequent the waters of Durban. Generally the sharks are sighted on the boat or whilst snorkelling with dolphins. Its is quite uncommon to view sharks on Scuba due to the “noise” of the bubbles.
The reefs of Durban were severely affected by the floods caused by Cyclone Demoina in September 1987. Huge amounts of silt were deposited on the reefs, consequently destroying a lot of the corals and reducing the visibility. Ten years later, it seems the reefs are improving noticeably every year with more hard and soft corals emerging on the reefs.
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