Watamu Marine National Park

Watamu Marine National Park and Reserve, established in 1968 as one of Kenya's first marine parks, protects coral gardens beginning about 300 meters offshore near Watamu on Kenya's coast, roughly 90 miles north of Mombasa. The park alone holds more than 500 recorded fish species, with the wider reserve exceeding 1,000, and about 110 stony coral types, alongside whale sharks, manta rays and octopus; the site was designated a biosphere reserve in 1979. It is also a critical nesting habitat for green, hawksbill and olive ridley sea turtles, maintained through monitoring programs credited with a 99 percent viable nest rate.