Albany · Australia · Reef
South Point
Broken ground in 10-15 m carrying juvenile fish in thousands
Area photo: Peter Southwood · CC BY-SA 3.0
South Point is a 10-15 m boat dive over broken ground east of Albany, and it is a nursery: thousands of Old Wife, Bight redfish, moonlighter and breaksea cod hold over the site. Large cuttlefish are the other reason to dive it, queen snapper turn up occasionally, and the site is usually protected whatever the weather is doing.
Where it is and how deep
34.9666° S, 118.1902° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The ground is broken rather than one structure, and the dive is a swim across it between 10 and 15 m - shallow enough for a long bottom time and even enough that the profile looks after itself. What makes the site is the number of fish over it: thousands of Old Wife, Bight redfish, moonlighter and breaksea cod, and most of them small.
Numbers like that mean juveniles, and a site full of juveniles is one to dive slowly rather than cover. Large cuttlefish are the other thing to look for, and queen snapper come through occasionally. Because it is usually protected in most conditions, South Point is a useful option on a day when swell has taken the exposed reefs out of the running.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Groupers
- Octopus & cuttlefish
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime |
Season follows Albany: Charters run year-round; December to March is the dry, warm half of the year, June to August the wet half with July the wettest month, and the whales are in the Sound July to October.
Questions divers ask
How deep is South Point?+
The dive runs 10-15 m over broken ground, so it is a shallow profile with long bottom times available.
Sources
- South Point (Scubago) — Scubago
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Cave & cavern
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An old communication cable tangled through the reef, 8-28 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Grey nurse sharks on the rock from July to October
Ledge swimthroughs to 18 m, with grey nurse sharks and mantas
A blue groper named Greg often joins divers here
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