Madagascar corals and fish don’t get a lot of airtime compared to their Indo-Pacific counterparts but at the Barren Isles Madagascar reef life is clearly thriving. Madagascar is home to innumerable endemic species of terrestrial plants and animals but the local waters of Madagascar are equally rich in unique and endemic reef corals and fish, like Centropyge debelius and Amphiprion latifasciatus.
The Barren Isles of Madagascar are a particularly remote shallow water area on the west coast of the African island which are so far off the beaten path for fishermen and travelers that the reefs are still in extremely good shape. A quick view at this video of the Barren Isles shot by Jon Slayer shows an amazing diversity and abundance of fish and corals are extremely well represented. It’s good to know that some really pristine reefs like these still exist and let’s hope Madagascar has the resources to help preserve and protect the beautiful Barren Isles.
