Bocas del Dragon Channel
Dive site
The channel between Trinidad's northwest peninsula and Venezuela is one of the Caribbean's strangest dive environments. Cold nutrient-rich Orinoco discharge mixes with Atlantic swell, driving an upwelling that keeps water temperatures 4 to 6 degrees cooler than the rest of the island — cool enough to support kelp beds and dense sponge forests more typical of temperate seas. Caribbean fish species mingle with Atlantic deepwater visitors. The current is strong and directional; most dives are one-way drifts through the channel with pick-up by tender. Marine biology researchers have documented unique species overlap here not found elsewhere in the island Caribbean.
Conditions
Depth
8 to 35 m
Advanced depths
Current
Can be moderate
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
8 to 16 m
Clearest in the calm season
Water
20 to 27°C
3mm wetsuit
Month by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water (°C) | 20 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 20 |
| Vis (m) | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Current | Strong | Strong | Strong | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Strong | Strong | Strong | Moderate | Strong | Strong |
Your chances of seeing each animal
Caribbean spiny lobster
Photo: terence zahner · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Tarpon
Photo: Rachel Andres-Beck · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Deep-water sponge assemblages
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Sergeant major
Photo: François Libert · CC BY-NC-SA
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Atlantic goliath grouper
Photo: victorbach · CC BY-NC
Rare
Now and then
Field journal
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