On Tikehau nothing goes to waste. All the fish that is eaten by locals is speared or caught locally and sustainably. Fishing is life...literally. The bones go back to the ocean where the resident black tip reef sharks consume them. They also come when fish is being cleaned at waters edge. In the morning you sit in the sand, with a cup of coffee, and watch their fins punch through the surface tension of the water to be bathed in dapples of morning light...sometimes a rainbow appears and a shark fin magically makes its way toward it like in a f-ing fairytale. All you can do is giggle to yourself that you are fortunate enough to be witness to moments like this. The island children can swim and dive as soon as they can walk...here the ocean is respected, protected and understood. French Polynesia is the largest shark sanctuary in the world and seeing these apex predators, large and small, thriving along side their human neighbors is a true pleasure.