Corsica · France · Pinnacle · Reef
Mérouville
The sec du Pelu, renamed for the groupers that hold on it
Area photo: Reustli · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mérouville is a rock plateau in the Lavezzi archipelago, about ten kilometres southeast of Bonifacio, named for the roughly thirty dusky groupers that live on it — fish habituated enough to swim up and look at divers. The rock rises to 17 metres from a sand floor at 30, and the whole site sits inside the Réserve naturelle des Bouches de Bonifacio.
Also known as Sec du Pelu.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Corsica and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
You drop onto the sec du Pelu, a rock plateau whose highest points stand at 17 metres above a sand floor at 30. The shape of the dive is unusual: instead of covering ground you settle among the broken rock on top and wait, because the groupers here — around thirty of them, some weighing forty kilos — are used to divers and will come in close on their own terms rather than being chased.
Between the groupers there is the rest of it. Moray eels and corb sit in the rock, dentex pass in the blue, and clouds of sars, oblades and girelles work over the top of the plateau. In July and August bigger fish come through the edges — leerfish, and on some days tuna. The deepest ground runs to 35 metres, which is why operators put an experienced-diver label on the site, while the sand at 30 is the working floor for most of the bottom time.
Background
The Lavezzi islands were constituted a nature reserve in 1982. Since 1999 they have formed part of the Réserve naturelle des Bouches de Bonifacio and, together with Italy's Maddalena archipelago park, make up the International Marine Park of the Bonifacio Strait, run by a European grouping of territorial cooperation constituted in December 2012.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Barracuda
- Tuna
- Trevally & jacks
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Stingrays
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Corsica: Operators run Apr–Oct with July and August warmest; the Bouches de Bonifacio funnel wind and can close the crossing at short notice.
Know before you go
- The deepest ground is 35 metres and the plateau tops out at 17, so it is easy to stay deeper than planned while watching fish — agree a maximum depth and a turn time before you get in.
- The Bouches de Bonifacio is notorious among sailors for its weather, currents and shoals; the plateau itself is reported current-free, but the crossing and the day's plan are a sea-state call.
Dive videos
30 juillet 2006 Mérouville / Corse · fcmovie on YouTube
[4K] Mérouville [Bonifacio Plongée] · diving'eek on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Mérouville?+
The rock rises to 17 metres from a sand floor at 30 metres, and the deepest ground on the site is 35. Open Water divers are taken here, but operators suggest Advanced or N2 to make use of the whole profile.
What will I see at Mérouville?+
Around thirty dusky groupers, some of them forty-kilo fish, habituated to divers. Alongside them: moray eels, corb, dentex and shoals of sars, oblades and girelles, with leerfish and occasional tuna in July and August.
Sources
- Îles Lavezzi — Wikipedia (French)
- Mérouville, site de plongée : Îles Lavezzi, Corse du Sud — Tribloo
- Mérouville — Bonifacio Plongée
More dive sites in Corsica
Rock formations and faults on ground from 5 to 30 metres
Sand slope
A sandbar edge from 3 m to 15 m, used for courses
A 3 m to 15 m nursery plateau in an island reserve
Stepped plateaus at 6 to 20 metres off a bird-sanctuary island
Wreck
A 45 m cement ship on sand, deck at 6 m
Catalogued from 10 to 30 metres on the Chiappa cape
Catalogued from 15 m down to 40 m off Porto-Vecchio
Sand slope
Sand bank, seagrass and rock under the Chiappa light
Similar dives elsewhere
Maze-like rock stacks full of red sea fans to 40 m
Serpent stars that turn from black to red under a torch
A rock spine with a crest at 12 m and groupers along its length
Pinnacle
I Picchi
Tavolara & La Maddalena · Italy
Twin granite spires breaking the surface, with an arch at 26 m