Sha'ab Claudio

Sha'ab Claudio, in the Fury Shoals, is made up of two small reefs, and the southern one holds two large caves that are not fully enclosed, with holes overhead through which light comes in. The name is said to come from the Italian diver who discovered this group of reefs. Over thousands of years, water from the backflow channels carved the porous limestone roof of the reef, forming canyons and grottoes with openings everywhere through which the surface can be seen. On the classic route, the two entrances to the southern cave are hidden behind corals, and divers head west to the exit, in a large coral garden; there is another cave about 75 m to the north.

The west side has good coral cover, with stony coral gardens on the reef front and Porites heads 2 to 3 m tall, and jacks sometimes pass through this garden. Between a pinnacle and the reef there is an anemone with clownfish. The caves and passages provide hiding places for many fish, and the sides of the reef are covered mainly in soft corals. There are plenty of anthias, large parrotfish and wrasses, and stingrays may appear. The more sheltered south side has less coral but plenty of small life, good for macro photography. In November 2010, a tassled scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis oxycephala) waiting for prey at night and the tube sponge Callyspongia crassa were photographed on the reef.

In the Wadi Lahami area, where dives to the Fury Shoals depart from, the sea tends to be slightly calmer from September to May.