Several sites have incredibly diverse communities of beautiful soft corals, and there were huge numbers of fish, large and small. The worst culprits are surgeon fishes, in particular the eye stripe surgeon, Acanthurus dussumieri. Almost everywhere there are groupers, mostly the tomato grouper, Dermatolepis striolaatus. At the limestone cliffs on the south side of any of the islands there are surreal landscapes of caverns, chasms, cliffs and sculpted rocks, all covered with an amazing array of algae, worms, sea squirts and corals. Through this landscape drifted, swam and darted fish of all shapes and sizes.
Sharks are rare guests.
Infrastructure The south-west monsoon, which kicks up high seas in the area from April to October, has created a physical barrier to access since earliest times. Even during the calmer periods landing there may still be difficult due to a combination of logistical problems, including the absence of adequate harbour facilities. The island had been during the British rule, used either as temporary depot for refuge of the British crews and seamen, or as the light-house location for guidance of the marine route for their ships. It was also known to be one military garrison for the British troops. Recently, in May 1999 the first International Airport Hadibu was inaugurated.