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Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Santa Maria location page.
Overview
Underwater seamount 50 nautical miles southwest of Faial. Top rises to 35 m below the surface; pelagic action in mid-water rivals any seamount on Earth. Mobula ray schools number into the hundreds at peak season; blue sharks and mako prowl the deeper sides.
Briefing note
Long open-ocean transit. Sea state can cancel trips on short notice.
What you'll see
4 species curated- seasonalSicklefin devil rayPeak: Jul · Aug · Sep
- seasonalBlue sharkPeak: Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep
- seasonalShortfin makoPeak: Jul · Aug · Sep
- seasonalYellowfin tuna
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- medium confidenceSicklefin devil ray
- Last confirmed
- Sep 2025
- Recent records
- 45 within 25 km
- Cluster months
- Jul, Aug, Sep
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- Manta Trust IDtheManta Database — Manta Trust
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16–18 °C | 20–40 m | moderate |
| Feb | 15–17 °C | 20–40 m | moderate |
| Mar | 16–17 °C | 20–40 m | moderate |
| Apr | 16–18 °C | 20–40 m | moderate |
| May | 17–19 °C | 20–40 m | moderate |
| Jun | 19–21 °C | 25–45 m | moderate |
| Jul | 21–23 °C | 25–45 m | moderate |
| Aug | 23–25 °C | 25–45 m | moderate |
| Sep | 22–24 °C | 25–45 m | moderate |
| Oct | 20–22 °C | 20–40 m | moderate |
| Nov | 18–20 °C | 20–40 m | moderate |
| Dec | 17–19 °C | 20–40 m | moderate |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- 5mm wetsuit — Open Atlantic stays cool even in summer.
- SMB — Blue-water diving over a seamount — always drift exits.
Next step
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Hotels, liveaboards, dive operators, gear recommendations, and travel logistics for the whole region.
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