Fauna of the Bismarck Sea

The Bismarck Sea is an inter-island sea in the western Pacific Ocean, bounded to the north, east and south by the Bismarck Archipelago and to the west by the island of New Guinea; it is connected to the Solomon Sea by the Strait of Vityaz. Like many Pacific seas, the Bismarck Sea is teeming with coral colonies, home to a wide variety of fish, molluscs and marine life.

Common inhabitants of the Bismarck Sea

The Bismarck Sea is bordered by a mostly smooth coastline with many coral formations - atolls and reefs. The reefs provide shelter for many species of marine life such as Monodactylidae, Amphiprion, Pomacanthidae, Parrotfish, Pygmy Seahorse, White Cloud Mountain Minnow, Squirrelfish, Mandarinfish, Oyster Toadfish, Cobia and others. The warm waters of the Bismarck Sea abound with rainbow runners, horse-eyed jacks, schools of striped sweetlips and yellowbanded sweetlips, large schools of Pacific bluefin tuna, Pacific barracuda, reef manta rays. There are many nudibranchs, cuttlefish, pygmy seahorse, various octopus including marbled octopus.

Commercial fishing Bismarck Sea

The Bismarck Sea is home to valuable commercial species such as tuna, herring, sardines, flounder, eels, Sciaenidae and mackerel. 

Unusual inhabitants of the Bismarck Sea

The Bismarck Sea promises the most vivid impressions for the curious. If you're lucky, you might spot the upside-down razorfish and the giant elephant ear sponge. 

Mammals Bismarck Sea

In the Bismarck Sea, large aggregations of spinner dolphin, common bottlenose dolphin, Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, pantropical spotted dolphin, Risso's dolphin, short-finned pilot whale, Cuvier's beaked whale and significant numbers of sperm whales and Orca have been observed. 

Marine invertebrates Bismarck Sea

The underwater world of coral reefs is represented by crabs and crustaceans of all shapes and sizes, sea worms and colourful snakes and, of course, beautiful jellyfish.

The dangerous inhabitants of the Bismarck Sea

In this coral reef realm, you may come across predatory sharks, moray eels and barracudas. There are dangerous species of jellyfish, siphonophores, clams, octopuses and spiny fish. You can step on a whiptail stingray or get stung by a scorpaena. You can lose your life if you touch a box jellyfish or a Portuguese man o' war.

Sharks in the Bismarck Sea

The Bismarck Sea is home to a large number and variety of sharks. The most common are: Tiger Shark, Shortfin Mako Shark, Grey Reef Shark and Oceanic Whitetip Shark.