The southern coastline of Atauro Island hosts dive sites with more tapering slopes that lead to the depths, rather than deep vertical walls. The sites located within the sheltered bays in and around the village of Berau have some of the highest diversity of reef fish, as discovered via rapid marine biological assessments conducted by conservation organizations. Two new species of fish were also recently discovered here. The corals in the zone are also old, long-living specimens forming large colonies in relatively shallow water.

Sites located on the south-western and south-eastern corners of the island should be reserved for the more experienced divers, due to exposure to fast moving waters and tendency to produce sudden up- or down-currents. The highly-exposed sections however do attract larger fish and the strong drift dives offer encounters with schooling jacks, barracudas, unicornfish, reef sharks and more.

On the surface, the southern sections of Atauro Island is also a hot-spot for cetacean sightings. Pods of short-finned pilot whales, melon-headed whales, spinner dolphins, Frasers dolphins and more are often sighted in the zone.