The Shelf

The Shelf is the shallow plateau just inside the offshore drop-off where spawning fish aggregations gather during full moons from March to June. During peak nights thousands of cubera snapper and mutton snapper mass in dense schools, releasing clouds of eggs and milt that draw whale sharks from the open ocean to filter feed at the surface edge. Outside spawning season the shelf itself teems with Nassau grouper, eagle rays gliding over hard coral, and the occasional bull shark patrolling the wall edge.