Jeff Currier's Fly Fishing Presentations
" Fly Fishing
Christmas Island"
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PowerPoint Based Presentation |
 “Fly Fishing Christmas Island” – Kiritimati or Christmas Island is the
largest coral atoll in the world and is located 1335 miles from Hawaiian
Islands. Kiribati has a total land area of 811 sq km (313 sq mi). The
islands extend about 3,900 km (about 2,400 mi) from east to west. From
north to south they extend about 2,100 km (about 1,300 mi), straddling
the equator. Kiritimati, one of the Line Islands, occupies 609 sq km
(235 sq mi) and has the largest land area of any atoll in the world.
Kiribati’s exclusive economic zone (area of the ocean in which it
controls fishing and other rights) covers more than 3 million sq km
(more than 1 million sq miles).
On Christmas Island, the average temperature is 80-85 degrees in the day
and 70-75 at night. The average rainfall is 33 inches with the wet
season being from November to April.
Captain Cook first discovered Christmas Island in 1777 on Christmas Eve,
thus the name. The Republic of Kirabas was established in 1979 and
incorporates 33 islands that cover an area of 2 million miles. Christmas
Island is just one of the 33 islands. The people of Christmas Island are
considered to be Gilbertese, named after Captain Thomas Gilbert, while
the people of Tarawa, the capital of Kirabas, are considered mainly
Micronesian.
The economy of Christmas Island is centered on fishing and raising
exotic aquarium fish. The main villages of Christmas Island are London,
Poland, Paris and Banana.
 All of the islands are atolls (ring-shaped islands with central lagoons)
except for the island of Banaba in the Gilbert Islands which is a raised
limestone Island. Of the 33 islands of Kiribati, 21 are inhabited. Most
of the population is concentrated in the Gilbert Islands and only one of
the islands in Phoenix Group (Kanton Island) is inhabited and three of
the Line Islands are permanently inhabited. The capital of Kiribati is
Tarawa, an atoll in the Gilbert Islands. Bairiki, an islet of Tarawa,
serves as an administrative center.
The majority of the atolls are barely more than six metres above sea
level and surrounded by barrier reefs creating picturesque lagoons for
fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming and other water sports.
Professional scuba diving guide are available on Christmas Island,
Fanning Island and Tarawa.
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