French Polynesia is a group of Central Pacific tropical islands south of Hawaii.  Most famous of their islands is Tahiti and Bora Bora, but there are ~170 islands in French Polynesia, each with unique coral reefs.  Being outside of the “Coral Triangle,” the biodiversity is not as rich as the Indo-Pacific.  However, the coral reefs here are robust thanks to French Polynesia’s remote location and lower human activity.  One look at the impressive shark populations tells us how healthy these reefs are.

The first video shows young snorkels enjoying the power of the ocean and beauty of Tikehau, French Polynesia.  The wave action is remarkable, sculpting the low, compact formation of the coral reef.  The second video is by Eric Cheng and is a mini-documentary describing shark diving in these islands.  The “walls” of sharks greeting divers is a testament to the health of the ecosystem.  Healthy predators means healthy reefs.

These are large-file HD videos so they may stutter with slower connection speeds.  You can either turn off HD (click HD at the bottom right of the video) or pause the video and let it load completely before playing.