Paradise Reef
Depth: Shallow Dive: 40 to 50 feet
Skill level: Novice
A series of three separate reefs running parallel to shore approximately 200 yards out. This is the only reef accessible to beach divers. All three sections have abundant marine life including the reclusive Splendid Toad Fish, reputed to live only in Cozumel. Most popular spot for night dives.
Balones of Chankanaab
Depth: Shallow Dive: 60 to 70 feet
Skill level: Novice
A series of balloon - shaped coral heads. Lots of marine life, lobster and crab.
Chankanaab Caves
Depth: 35 feet max
Skill level: Novice
This is an interesting dive at the south end of Chankanaab Park. Excellent beach dive that can be reached either from Chankanaab Park itself or by entering south of the park towards Corona beach where there is no park entrance fee. Cold fresh water flows out of limestone caves called cenotes. Large Tarpan can be found swimming around in the entrance to the caves. Stay in the ambient light and do not venture far back. Interesting mixing of cold fresh water on the top layer with the warm salt water below.
Tormentos Reef
Depth: Shallow Dive: 50 to 70 feet
Skill level: Intermediate
A series of colorful coral heads separates by blue sand valleys. Home to very friendly and big green moray. Some of the fastest currents can be found here. Angelfish, groupers, grunts and snapper are common.
Yucab Reef
Depth: Shallow: 45 to 60 feet
Skill level: Novice
Excellent 2nd dive. Dense, low profile is full of life and color. Popular barracuda hang out as the current is usually swift.
Punta Tunich
Depth: 50 to 130 feet
Skill level: Intermediate to Advanced
Often swift current. From a sand bottom at 70 feet, a long ridge of coral rises from the sand dunes between 40 to 60 feet. Big grouper and playful green moray eels.
San Francisco Reef
Depth: Shallow: 35 to 50 feet
Skill level: Intermediate
Begins on the Southern end of Old San Francisco Beach. This half mile reef is broken into three sections, separate by about 60 yards of sand. This is Cozumel's shallowest wall dives and loaded with life between 35 and 50 feet.
Santa Maria Reef
Depth: Shallow: 40 to 60 feet
Skill level: Intermediate
This reef begins where San Francisco ends. A little less coral but large schools of angelfish.
Santa Rosa Wall
Depth: Deep Dive: 50 to 130 feet
Skill level: Intermediate
Very popular deep dive and for good reason. The wall starts at 50 feet and drops straight into the deep! Usually a very swift current that allows you to "fly" along the wall. Immense sponges, huge overhangs of stoney coral and lots of caves and swim through tunnels. Eagle rays and turtles often spotted.
Paso el Cedral (Oak Pass)
Depth: Shallow: 35 to 60 feet
Skill level: Intermediate
A series of many reefs marked with expansive low profile caverns at the beginning and lots of big fish. Less dived than most spots, but not to be missed.
Cedral Wall
Depth: Deep Dive: 50 to 90 feet
Skill level: Intermediate
Expect a good ride on the usually strong currents. Kind of flat but full of color and marine life.
Little Caves
Depth: Deep Dive: 50 to 70 feet
Skill level: Novice
Great dive with winding, colorful canyons, deep ravines and narrow crevices. Lots of passageways, tunnels and caves. Great dive at 50 -70 feet.
Palancar Horseshoe
Depth: Deep Dive: 25 to 125 feet
Skill level: Intermediate
A series if tightly pack giant coral heads rise from 100 feet to within 20 feet of the surface. One of Cozumel's busiest deep dives.
Palancar Gardens
Depth: Shallow: 40 to 70 feet
Skill level: Novice
Best dived from 40 to 50 feet. Beautiful dive with many large caverns.
Palancar Caves
Depth: Deep Dive: 60 to 90 feet
Skill level: Intermediate
Abundant marine life. Deep buttresses, tunnels, caves and big caverns. Very popular deep dive
Columbia Reef
Depth: Deep Dive: 60 to 90 feet
Skill level: Intermediate
Impressive drop off at 60 to 80 feet. Deep diving at its finest, at least as spectacular as any part of the Palancar. A series of gigantic coral pinnacles, most over 90 feet, marked with caves, tunnels and caverns. Large marine life such as eagle rays, turtles and large barracuda often seen.
Columbia Shallow
Depth: Shallow Dive: 15 to 35 feet max
Skill level: Novice
Maximum bottom time. This never ending sea garden is a favorite 2nd dive for maximum bottom time.
Punta Sur
Depth: Deep: 90 to 130 feet
Skill level: Advanced
This is diving for the experienced at it's best. Home to the famous "Devil's Throat" which starts at the opening of a dark narrow tunnel at 90 feet and takes you out into a sunlit opening at 130 feet on the wall. Eagle rays and sharks are occasionally spotted here. Other spots include the cathedral, which is a large cave opening with giant sponges that form a cross in the ceiling of the cave where light passes through.
Maracaibo Reef
Depth: Deep: 90 to 160 feet
Skill level: Expert
This is the southernmost reef on the island and is very exposed to current and topside surf. From 90 - 120 the wall is a waste of time and money, but from 140 - 160 feet, its awesome. But that's decompression diving! Maracaibo or Lighthouse reef is excellent diving slightly in from the wall with lush and rarely dived huge heads in 60 -90 feet.
Barracuda & San Juan Reefs
Depth: Deep: 70 to 110 feet
Skill level: Expert
On the north side of the island, these two reefs can be dove safely by only small groups of experience current divers using a hand held ascent line. Rarely visited due to rough conditions, even in good weather, the current runs 2 to 3 knots and downcurrents are not uncommon.
Virgin Wall
Depth: Deep: 40 to 130 feet
Skill level: Expert
Heavy currents prevent local divemasters from bringing in large groups of unexperienced divers (which usually leads to ruin) and has left this dive pristine and lush. 2 to 4 different dives to experience it all.
Marine
Park Rules
Mexican
government declare a National Marine park on July 19, 1996;
covering area of more than 11 thousand hectares including
the beaches and waters between Paradise Reef and Chiqueros
point. The environmental, natural resource and fishing Secretariat
SEMARNAP, administers the park.
The
financing of the parks programs is shared by the federal government
and the civil environmental groups; represented by COPRENAT,
and the dive operators through ANOAAT.
Do
your share to preserve the flora and fauna for future generations.
Corals
are fragile.
Kicking,
touching, dragging your gear causes damage, buoyancy control
is your key to healthy coral.
Photographers
in particular, take pictures without causing damage.
Marine
organisms are protected by law.
Fishing,
feeding the fauna and taking souvenirs is against the law.
Refrain from extracting or annoying the marine flora and fauna.
Help
us prevent pollution.
Report
fuel, oil, sewage and garbage spills to the National Park
office.
Pressure
your dive operator to instruct novice divers and divers without
adequate buoyancy control, and to refuse service to destructive
divers.
If
you use gloves, do not grab the corals.
If
you carry a knife, keep it in the sheath.
Use
biodegradable sunblock products.
Introduction
to Coral
Coral
is often mistaken for a rock or a plant. However, it is composed
of tiny, fragile living organisms called coral polyps. The
coral polyps take calcium carbonate or limestone from the
sea and build protective structures around themselves. These
protective limestone structures are known as coral. So when
we say "coral" we are referring to coral polyps and the skeletons
that they leave behind when they die.
What
are coral reefs?
As
coral polyps die, new generations of coral polyps then grow
on top of the coral and coral reefs are formed.
What's
the Hype?
Coral
reefs cover less than 1% of the planet's surface but are homes
to over 25% of all marine life (over 4,000 different species
of fish, 700 species of coral, and thousands of other plants
and animals). Coral reefs are among the world's most fragile
and endangered ecosystems. "In the last few decades, mankind
has destroyed over 35 million acres of coral reefs. Reefs
off of 93 countries have been damaged by human activity. If
the present rate of destruction continues, 70% of the world's
coral reefs will be killed within our lifetimes." (The Coral
Reef Alliance.)
Coral
Reef Animals:
Sponges
provide shelter for fishes, shrimps, crabs, and other small
animals.
Sea
anemones are close relatives of corals.
Bryozoans
encrust the reef.
Variety
of worms, including both flatworms and polychaetes, Christmas
tree worms, feather duster worms, bristleworms.
Sea
stars, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins.
Shrimps,
crabs, lobsters, and other crustaceans find protection from
predators in crevices or between coral branches.
Octopuses,
squids, clams, scallops, marine snails, and nudibranchs are
all molluscs that live on or near the reef.
Both
schooling and solitary fishes are essential residents of the
reef ecosystem.
Some
species of sharks, skates, and rays live on or near the reef.
Parrotfish
use chisel-like teeth to nibble on hard corals.
Wrasses
comprise a large group of colorful cigar-shaped fishes.
Eels
are one of the reef's top predators.
Other
fishes found on the reefs include angelfishes, butterfly fishes,
damselfishes, triggerfishes, seahorses, snappers, squirrelfishes,
grunts, pufferfishes, groupers, barracudas, and scorpionfishes.
Sea
turtles frequent reef areas.
Sea
snakes.
A
variety of human activities are driving the destruction of
coral reefs:
growing
coastal populations
shoreline
and inland development
pollution
from sewage, fertilizers, chemicals and sediment runoff
over-fishing
and over-use
Destructive
fishing practices including poisons and explosives, and
ship
groundings and anchor damage.
What
can one individual do?
All
Travelers
Don't
buy coral souvenirs.
Support
marine protected areas.
Don't
order turtle, shark fin or other restaurant dishes made from
threatened wildlife.
Avoid
"live-fish" restaurants where the fish may have been captured
using cyanide.
Divers
& Snorkelers
Maintain
control of fins, gauges and other equipment so they do not
bump against the reef.
Practice
diving in a pool or sandy area before diving near reefs.
Get
trained by experts so that you can understand and enjoy your
dives more.
Follow
the marine park rules.
Educate
others not aware of marine park rules when the opportunity
arises. |