Planning a trip?
Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the South Pass location page.
Overview
Widest pass in French Polynesia, 1.6 km across, with strong outflowing currents that bring big-fish action right to the edge. Schools of barracuda, grey reef sharks, and seasonal mantas. Companion site to the more famous South Pass.
What you'll see
4 species curated- year-roundGrey reef shark
- year-roundSchooling barracuda
- seasonalManta ray
- year-roundNapoleon wrasse
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- high confidenceGrey reef shark
- Last confirmed
- Nov 2025
- Recent records
- 130 within 10 km
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- Wildbook (Sharkbook, Whale Shark, Manta Matcher) — Wild Me
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28–29 °C | 25–40 m | strong |
| Feb | 28–29 °C | 25–40 m | strong |
| Mar | 28–29 °C | 25–40 m | strong |
| Apr | 27–29 °C | 25–40 m | strong |
| May | 27–28 °C | 25–40 m | strong |
| Jun | 26–28 °C | 25–40 m | strong |
| Jul | 26–27 °C | 25–40 m | strong |
| Aug | 26–27 °C | 25–40 m | strong |
| Sep | 26–28 °C | 25–40 m | strong |
| Oct | 27–28 °C | 25–40 m | strong |
| Nov | 27–29 °C | 25–40 m | strong |
| Dec | 28–29 °C | 25–40 m | strong |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- SMB — Drift exit, often well out into the lagoon.
Next step
Book your trip to South Pass
Hotels, liveaboards, dive operators, gear recommendations, and travel logistics for the whole region.
Plan your trip →Some links earn us a commission. Learn more