Solitary Islands Fish ID

Fish ID of the Solitary Islands Marine Park

The different species we find in the Solitary Islands Marine Park are a mixture of tropical fish from the Great Barrier reef and Sub-tropical fish from Sydney to southern Australia.
CoastKeepers have developed a 50 fish species Fish ID for New South Wales, we have included most of those and added our own tropical species! So when you Scuba Dive or Snorkel the Solitary Islands Marine Park, you are welcome to use our list and record your sightings

The Common Fish ID of our Solitary Islands Marine Park

This section we show the different species we find in the Solitary Islands Marine Park that are common to see when you come diving with us!

The mixture of tropical fish from the Great Barrier reef and Sub-tropical fish from Sydney to southern Australia are not seen together in many places!

What we see all the time is usually quite unique for most travelling divers, and you will be amazed at the number of fish we have in the sanctuary zones of the Solitary Islands Marine Park, starting here at Coffs Harbour!

Cephalopod & things with tentacles!

Some of the cooler things in the water (if we do say so ourselves!). Cephalopods are defined by Wikipedia as being: “characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles (muscular hydrostats) modified from the primitive molluscan foot”. But we find it an easy way to catgorise octopus, squids, and cuttlefish – all of which we are lucky to see here! We’ve added Jellyfish to this section for convenience but they are not Cephalopods, they are members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria.

Crabs, Shrimp, and Lobster

Shrimps, Crabs, Lobster, and stomatopods (The category a Mantis Shrimp falls under) – some of the smaller critters! These little guys can be harder to find sometimes but are well worth it!

The Nudibranchs and Shells of our Solitary Islands Marine Park

This section we show the different species of Nudibranches and shells! Not all of the images have the scientific name on them, but we are working on it!

Sharks and Rays

The big stuff! (Usually). Sharks and Rays that we see at the Solitary Islands vary depending on the time of year. We see Wobbegong sharks all year round, as with Grey Nurse Sharks – however you are more likely to see Grey Nurse during the colder months (April – November) and in larger numbers. We see hammerheads occasionally through from September to February, and Leopard Sharks more commonly in January and February, although sometimes though to April.

In addition, we sometimes see Manta Rays, generally between January to April, we see Eagle Rays and Bull Rays (Splotched Fantail rays) year round, and Cownose rays between September and February

Turtles

The Solitary Islands are home to a large number of Turtles. We commonly see three different types of Turtles daily. The largest of them is the Loggerhead Turtle with our favorite local at South Solitary named Barney. The next largest is the Green Turtle, who vary in size but usually not full grown in our region. Following the Green Turtle is the smallest type, the Hawksbill Turtle, named because it’s top beak extends over the bottom beak like a Hawk. There is sometimes confusion identifying them, but the beak is the easiest way to tell the difference between the Green and Hawksbill.

Corals & Other Marine Life

The mixture of tropical waters from the Great Barrier reef and Sub-tropical water from Sydney to southern Australia means a lot of these little critters are not seen together in many places!

What we see all the time is usually quite unique for most travelling divers. The marine life is loaded in the sanctuary zones of the Solitary Islands Marine Park, starting here at Coffs Harbour!