Belize Barrier Reef, the area around Pelican Caye

Belize Barrier Reef · Belize · Reef

Pelican Caye

Drop into 35 m of open water, then up a sharp reef slope

Area photo: Axelspace Corporation · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pelican Caye lies in the Northern Bogue section of Turneffe Atoll, some 500 metres north of the island of the same name. Divers drop into 35 metres of water over a sandy floor scattered with coral patches, then move onto a sharply sloping reef that rises to 16 metres and levels off into a wide flat plain.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Pelican Caye: typical dive 16–35 m (52–115 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit16 m35 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

17.4048° N, 87.8106° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The entry goes straight into deep water: you drop into 120 feet, 35 metres, above a sandy sea floor with scattered patches of coral. That open habitat is what ocean triggerfish prefer, and they gather here. Swimming in from the drop you soon reach the sharply sloping reef, which rises to 55 feet, about 16 metres, and then levels out again to form a wide flat plain.

The plain takes the rest of the dive. Nurse sharks roam over the reef and green turtles often rest on the coral substrate, while surgeonfish and porkfish accumulate around the small bommies that protrude from the floor. Sites in this section of the atoll are not visited as frequently as elsewhere on Turneffe, so expect a reef with less traffic on it and a longer wait for the right day.

Marine life and season

  • Reef sharks
  • Sea turtles
Month-by-month season rating for Pelican Caye
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodFairOff-seasonOff-seasonFairGood

Season follows Belize Barrier Reef: Whale sharks aggregate at Gladden Spit around the March–June full moons; September–October bring the highest hurricane risk.

Know before you go

  • The Northern Bogue is exposed to the predominant trade winds, which cause surface swells; the site needs still air and calm seas, so trips here get called off more than elsewhere on the atoll.
  • The dive starts at 35 metres over sand with no reef beside you at the drop, so watch the gauge and the no-decompression clock from the first minute.

Sources

  1. Turneffe Atoll dive sites — Dive The World

More dive sites in Belize Barrier Reef

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Alfredo's

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15–25 mintermediate

Wall

Chinaman's Wall

Eagle rays off a sponge-hung wall on Turneffe's east coast

20–25 mintermediate

Pelagic & blue water

Gladden Spit

Whale sharks feeding on snapper spawn between March and June

to 40 madvanced

Blue hole

Great Blue Hole

Stalactites that grew in open air, now hanging in a 124-metre shaft

5–40 m · max 124 madvanced

Wall

Half Moon Caye Wall

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to 15 mintermediate

Channel & pass

Hol Chan Marine Reserve

A 9-metre reef cut, with nurse sharks and stingrays next door

1.5–9 mbeginner

Wall

Long Caye

Coral gardens on the lip of a wall that falls several hundred metres

10–15 mintermediate

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