Diving and Fishing

The opportunities for scuba diving in the waters of the Mafia archipelago are world-class and virtually limitless. The islands are surrounded by reefs teeming with marine life, and the whole area was designated a marine park by the Tanzania government to minimise the impact of destructive fishing practices such as dynamiting. To date over 50 genera of corals, more than 460 species of fish and five different species of turtles have been recorded in the waters around Mafia’s Chole Bay. Mafia’s reefs offer dozens of wonderful dive sites, some of them hardly explored, showcasing a huge variety of fish and coral species, both hard and soft. Dropoffs, bommies, channels, walls and caves, drift and night dives are all possible.

While fishing is not possible inside the Marine Park, excellent sport fishing is to be had in the wider ocean waters surrounding Mafia. These are thought by many to be the best game fishing grounds in East Africa, with catches of sailfish, blue, black and striped marlin, barracuda, wahoo, kingfish, giant trevalley, yellowfin and dog-tooth tuna, dorado, five-fingered jack and rainbow runner, red snapper and rock cod all caught here.

The deep sea crescent off Mafia and the Songo Songo Archipelago is potentially one of the most exciting game fishing areas in the world, with expanses of virtually unfished waters that offer a keen challenge to sport fishermen. In 1950 the author Arthur Conan Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame set an all-Africa record for a dorado of 34.2 kg that still stands.