Planning a trip?
Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Julian Rocks location page.
Overview
Volcanic outcrop off Byron Bay where the warm East Australian Current collides with cooler southern water — a year-round species mixing pot. Leopard sharks blanket the sand in summer; grey nurse sharks winter in the gutters. Turtles and wobbegongs are residents.
What you'll see
4 species curated- seasonalLeopard sharkPeak: Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · May
- seasonalGrey nurse sharkPeak: Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct
- year-roundTasselled wobbegong
- year-roundGreen turtle
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- medium confidenceLeopard shark
- Last confirmed
- May 2026
- Recent records
- 45 within 10 km
- Cluster months
- Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May
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 We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.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
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- Wildbook (Sharkbook, Whale Shark, Manta Matcher) — Wild Me
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- 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 | 24–26 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Feb | 24–26 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Mar | 23–25 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Apr | 22–24 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| May | 20–22 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Jun | 19–21 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Jul | 18–20 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Aug | 18–20 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Sep | 19–21 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Oct | 20–22 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Nov | 22–24 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Dec | 23–25 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- 5mm wetsuit — Winter water drops to 18C — tropical suit insufficient.
Next step
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Hotels, liveaboards, dive operators, gear recommendations, and travel logistics for the whole region.
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