Mohéli Marine Park

Comoros

Comoros' first protected area, established in 2001 around the island of Mohéli, combining a fringing reef and lagoon system with nesting green and hawksbill turtles, dugongs, and humpback whale visits.

Mohéli Marine Park was gazetted on 19 April 2001 as the first protected area in the Comoros, created through a community-negotiated agreement between ten surrounding villages and the government. Its marine zone runs along the island's southern and eastern shores, enclosing a fringing-reef lagoon 10-60 m deep around eight small islets, with mangroves and seagrass beds and open water reaching 100 m depth. The park supports green and hawksbill turtles, dugongs, humpback whales, bottlenose whales, and eight dolphin species, and is notable for a resident population of coelacanths. In 2010 it was redesignated Mohéli National Park and in 2015 expanded to cover roughly three-quarters of the island's land area. No dive-specific sources (dive sites, operators, visibility) could be verified, so these are intentionally omitted rather than estimated. Source: Wikipedia (Mohéli National Park, Mohéli island).