Guam's extraordinary underwater critters

The glut of tourists flying in for the Caribbean’s famous dive spots has seasoned divers looking for other watering holes. The vast Pacific reassures them of the supply of open water. Guam is one of those diving spots that have outgrown ersatz tourism and come out as stars of their own.

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It would take special dives to reconnoiter with the renowned underwater critters, numbering in thousands of fish species. Guam has dozens of diving spots, popular in their own right for specific features. The Blue Hole is a natural choice for underwater archaeology, a 60- to 300-ft. plunge with sightings of the World War II wrecks of the SMS Cormoran (a German vessel) and the Tokai Maru (a Japanese one). A way’s side from the island’s northern coast, divers negotiate a 100-ft. dive in search for the Napoleon wrasse, a lumbering humphead with, reportedly, an amicable mien that balances out the thrill of dealing with non-malicious shark species. It also lurks among uncorrupted corals, of the kind Australia might put in tourism campaigns, but they’re stashed in a secret world only experienced divers could maximize.

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Over 20 new species of mollusks are also clacking against the sea wall. Amateur divers can content themselves with shallow acquaintance: 30 feet into a dive spot called the Blue & White, invertebrates slither around for a primordial fish eyeview. Shy of those, schools of pyramid butterfly fish are already a magical scream for first-timers.

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Phil Newsum is the executive director of the Association of Diving Contractors International, Inc., which promotes safety measures in commercial diving. More diving features here.