Barracuda Point is the best dive site in Sipadan and there are many reasons why this dive site is rated one of the best in the world. One of the reason is shown in this pic. You get to swim with big-ass turtles!
The Green turtles are the most common sea turtles in the world but they are still considered endangered. Here in Barracuda Point and the rest of the dive sites in Sipadan, you see several Green turtles in the same spot!
Thanks to Sabah Park; our governing body that helps preserve and protect Sipadan, you get to see Green turtles swimming freely and living wild and free from any threat.
Green turtles gather in cleaning stations to have small cleaner fishes and shrimps help clean them. Divers can get really close to them as turtles here are not afraid of divers thanks to the No-touch rule implemented by all dive operators here. Since turtles are not harassed, they are not afraid.
Many avid divers and photographers wish to see Green turtles mate. At Barracuda point you get to see this rare opportunity quite often! You can even get close for a good shot.
Barracudas are the highlight and the stars of Barracuda Point. They roam this dive site in schools, putting divers and snorkelers at awe of their majestic formation: The magnificent vortex.
A closer look at these Chevron barracudas shows that you can actually get really close and take good photos. Each barracuda here is at least a meter long! They do look somewhat menacing up close but they are virtually harmless to divers.
At the entry point of Barracuda Point divers are welcomed by a school of resident Jacks (Big-eye trevally). It is impossible to miss them. The Jacks have been around for ages and they are not showing any signs of migrating. They are populating the dive site!
Look how large the school is. They dart and circle around divers and the Jacks swim in such shallow waters that even snorkelers can nearly touch them! If the Barracudas are the stars, the Jacks definitely wins the supporting role.
The Bumphead parrotfish is a classified as a vulnerable species and will be considered endangered very soon. Bumpheads are so important to our coral reefs that they are commonly referred to as the Gardeners of the Reef. Each adult ingests over 5 tons of structural reef carbonates per year, contributing significantly to the bioerosion of reefs that leads to healthy growing reefs in the world. You get to see them grazing here at Barrcuda Point.
Bumpheads parrotfish is also known as the Buffalo fish. They move in herd. And when I say herd, I mean a school this big! Each one of them here is big, fat and massive.
The Grey reef shark is another amazing fish you will definitely see when you dive Barracuda Point. You can see them in the blue swimming in the outer reef. They are quite large and look quite dangerous but they do not pose a threat to divers. Barracuda Point boast of housing many sharks but I can assure you that the dives are all very safe with virtually zero threat of shark attacks.
The White-tip reef shark is another common shark in Barracuda Point. Visit the channel of this dive site and you can see more than twenty White-tip sharks of various sizes chilling out on the seabed. White-tip sharks are among the few species of sharks that can breath without swimming.
The corals at Sipadan, like this massive Cabbage coral are all very healthy and abundant since Sipadan is not threatened by coral-bleaching that is rampantly killing corals around the globe.
You get to see massive hard corals here.This one must be hundreds of years old and it is still big and growing without any sign of damage or stress caused by human. Most corals here at Barracuda Point live more than 500 years old.
The coral reef of Barracuda Point is magnificent and yet Barracuda Point do not have the best corals in Sipadan as compared to other dive sites like Mid-reef and Turtle Patch. Sipadan is truly an Underwater Garden, a paradise on earth.
The healthy corals at Barracuda Point supports and help provide shelter to small and delicate reef fishes. Barracuda Point boast of having as many marine life as many top-rated virgin coral reefs in the world!
Due to the abundance of marine life and the colorful dives this site has to offer, Barracuda Point is a must for both professional and recreational underwater photographers.
Divers are always briefed before entering the water and the general dive briefing always covers marine conservation. All divers are told not to step on corals and to maintain proper buoyancy during dives. All the dive guides at Sipadan have made a pledge to reduce human impact on coral reefs and the healthy and growing corals here show that the dive guides are continuing to find success in protecting Sipadan.
The pictures shown here are all the marine life you can expect to see when you dive at Barracuda Point. There can be no other dive site like this. So with such a diversity of life and colors, how can one not be in love with Barracuda Point? If any diver would claim Barracuda Point as boring and average, they are pretty much mouthing crap if not blind or perhaps taking it all for granted. I've been diving Barracuda Point professionally for more than a decade and this dive site still have a spell on me. It's unbelievable! It's magical! It's epic!
