La Restinga Channel

The sandy channel running west from La Restinga harbour into the Mar de las Calmas is one of the most reliable angel shark sites in the world. Squatina squatina — critically endangered across most of its former range — rests in the open here in concentrations that shocked researchers when first documented. A slow, shallow drift along the channel floor between 8 and 18 metres turns up three to eight individuals on a typical dive, lying half-buried at the edge of sand patches. Morays, stingrays, and large burrfish share the bottom; above them, barracuda work the mid-water column.