Fish Head
Depth is the range from the top of the site to its usual maximum; "recommended cert" is the mainstream-agency level operators usually ask for, not a legal rule. Currents and visibility change daily, so treat everything here as planning ranges.
Fish Head carries a piece of Maldivian conservation history: once a shark-feeding circus, it was protected in the 1990s and its gray reef sharks stayed on as wild patrols rather than performers. They cruise the up-current terraces in loose formation while enormous schools of fusiliers and bluestripe snapper wash over the ledges. Napoleon wrasse, some of the tamest in the country, inspect divers at arm's length, a legacy of the feeding years. The overhangs drip with black coral and glassfish. Current management and buoyancy discipline decide whether this dive is comfortable or a workout.
The moment you come for: Patrolling gray reef sharks; fearless Napoleon wrasse; fish density that explains the name
Topography: Terraced pinnacle with dramatic overhangs, stone ledges, and black-coral bushes
Current: Exposed mid-atoll position; current sets the shark action and can strengthen without much warning.
Know before you splash
Hazards: Current over an exposed thila; popularity means multiple groups on the reef.
Conservation: Protected marine area since the 1990s; feeding and touching are prohibited.
Nitrox: Worth it here: profiles sit in the range where enriched air meaningfully extends no-stop time (with the training to use it).
Who you'll meet
Oriental Sweetlips
Grey Reef Shark
Napoleon (Humphead) Wrasse
Giant Trevally
Great Barracuda
Nudibranchs
Clownfish & Anemonefish
Whitetip Reef Shark
Also recorded nearby
"Charted here" species were listed by our editors from the sources on this page. Counts are GBIF occurrence records: observations logged within about 5 km of the charted position since 1990, matched only against the species in our catalogue. They show what has been seen there, not a promise of what you will see.
For photographers
Wide angle: ★★★★★ · Macro: ★★☆☆☆ (editors' 1–5 rating of what this site gives each style of shooting)