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Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the La Restinga location page.
Overview
A volcanic seamount a few hundred metres off La Restinga harbour on El Hierro's southern tip, anchoring the Mar de las Calmas marine reserve. Twin pinnacles crest at 6 and 9 metres before steep walls plunge past 100 metres into open Atlantic. Current pulls feed schooling barracuda, amberjacks and tuna along the ridge, while large dusky groupers, morays and burrfish hold to the rock. In summer and autumn, mobula and oceanic manta rays circle the peaks and whale sharks occasionally pass through. Visibility runs 30 to 50 metres on calm days.
Briefing note
Inside Mar de las Calmas marine reserve — no fishing or collecting; permits handled by dive operators. Currents can be strong on the ridge edges; advanced certification and good buoyancy expected. Conditions occasionally cancel the dive in winter Atlantic swell.
What you'll see
9 species curated- year-roundDusky grouper
- year-roundAtlantic amberjack
- year-roundEuropean barracuda
- seasonalMobula ray (devil ray)Peak: Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct
- rareOceanic manta rayPeak: Aug · Sep · Oct
- rareWhale sharkPeak: Aug · Sep · Oct
- year-roundAtlantic trumpetfish
- year-roundMoray eel
- seasonalAtlantic bonitoPeak: Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- high confidenceDusky grouper
- Last confirmed
- Nov 2025
- Recent records
- 130 within 10 km
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 We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.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
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- 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 | 19–20 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
| Feb | 18–19 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
| Mar | 18–19 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
| Apr | 19–20 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
| May | 19–21 °C | 30–45 m | mild |
| Jun | 21–22 °C | 30–45 m | mild |
| Jul | 22–24 °C | 30–50 m | mild |
| Aug | 23–25 °C | 30–50 m | mild |
| Sep | 23–25 °C | 30–50 m | moderate |
| Oct | 22–24 °C | 30–45 m | moderate |
| Nov | 21–22 °C | 30–45 m | moderate |
| Dec | 20–21 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- SMB + finger reel — Currents over the seamount can push divers off the structure; surface marker buoy required for blue-water ascents and boat pickup.
- Dive computer with multi-level/deep capability — Walls drop past 100 m and most dives work depth profiles between 20 and 40 m along the ridge.
Next step
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