Planning a trip?
Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Milford Sound location page.
Overview
Rainwater forms a tannin-stained freshwater layer at the surface that filters sunlight — black corals normally found at 100 m grow at 10 m here. Below the freshwater lens, pristine cold-water ecosystem with rock lobster, sea pens, and red coral.
Briefing note
Drysuit certification mandatory.
What you'll see
4 species curated- year-roundBlack coral
- year-roundRed coral
- year-roundRock lobster
- year-roundEleven-armed sea star
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- high confidenceBlack coral
- Last confirmed
- Mar 2026
- 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 We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.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
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- 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 | 13–15 °C | 10–20 m | mild |
| Feb | 13–15 °C | 10–20 m | mild |
| Mar | 12–14 °C | 10–20 m | mild |
| Apr | 11–13 °C | 10–20 m | mild |
| May | 10–12 °C | 10–20 m | mild |
| Jun | 9–11 °C | 10–20 m | mild |
| Jul | 9–11 °C | 10–20 m | mild |
| Aug | 9–11 °C | 10–20 m | mild |
| Sep | 10–12 °C | 10–20 m | mild |
| Oct | 11–13 °C | 10–20 m | mild |
| Nov | 12–14 °C | 10–20 m | mild |
| Dec | 12–14 °C | 10–20 m | mild |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- Drysuit — Water sits at 9-15C year-round; freshwater lens makes wetsuit impractical.
- Hood — Cold-water head insulation essential.
- Dive light — Tannin layer cuts surface light dramatically.
Next step
Book your trip to Milford Sound
Hotels, liveaboards, dive operators, gear recommendations, and travel logistics for the whole region.
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