Barbados is endowed with a healthy and vibrantly colored reef system. When visiting the island, scuba divers can expect to encounter an abundance of sea life.
Blessed with a variety of hard and soft coral formations, the surrounding waters host a plethora of sea creatures and colorful fish life.
Shools of small to medium sized tropical fish include:
» Angel and butterfly fish
» Blue chromis
» Black durgeon
» Spotted drum
» Squirrelfish
Rare finds include:
» Delightful sea horses
» brightly colored frogfish
Larger species found in the north-west are:
» Amber jacks
» Tarpon
» Barracuda
For crustacean enthusiasts, a night dive is certain to amuse and amaze. During the day such creatures are hard to spot as they often hide at the back of holes or under rocks. As the sun sets, crab and lobster exit their well hidden haunts to scavenge and feed off the ocean floor.
Many of the reefs are divided by deep sand channels. While there might not be a lot of coral to see in the channels; keep an eye out for stingrays which often lie partially buried and camouflaged by the sand.
Southern sting rays and spotted eagle rays are commonly seen with the occasional manta sighting which is a real treat. While generally unconcerned by divers, stay a good distance away and never swim above the rays to avoid being hit by their venomous tail spine.
For more experienced divers, shark sightings usually occur around the eastern and northern parts of the island in the colder Atlantic Sea waters.
During the day, sharks are generally found further out to sea however they are known to come closer to shore for night feeding. Nurse sharks are sometimes seen around Tropicana, a fringing reef running along the west coast and almost unheard of in the southern waters.
For the more slippery variety, rocks and crevices are home to several varieties of moray eel such as the spotted and the reticulate moray.
Much resembling a common garter snake, goldspotted or broadband eels can be found curled along the sand or underneath rocky patches. Smaller varieties - such as the garden eel - are in abundance. Look for them peeping out of the sandy bottom like individual blades of grass when diving shallow waters. Garden eels are shy creatures which quickly retreat into the sand upon approach.
Not to be missed are the teams of gentle hawksbill turtles that are present year round. Leatherback and green turtles also visit Barbados' waters, however sightings are less frequent.
Many of the turtles you will see around the island are tagged and monitored through the Barbados Sea Turtle Project (BSTP). The BSTP exists to conserve and protect the local turtle population through a variety of activities and programs.
For an almost guaranteed turtle sighting, make sure to visit 'The Boot', a popular southern reef dive at a depth of 50 to 130 ft.
Friars Craig - another popular south coast dive location lying at a depth of 45 ft - is also a well known turtle-spotting area. Friars Craig is situated north-west of Asta reef along a sandy channel. On certain days, up to a dozen or more turtles have been known to linger around the fragmented wreck. |
