Banyuls-sur-Mer & the Côte Vermeille · France · Reef
Les 3 Moines
Groupers, dentex, brown meagre and barracuda in 5 to 20 m of reserve water
Area photo: Florian Pépellin · CC BY-SA 3.0
A shallow rock site in the Banyuls-Cerbère marine reserve, dived between 5 and 20 m, where the protection since 1974 shows in the fish: groupers, dentex, brown meagre, lobsters, barracudas and sars are all listed here. The depth makes it one of the reserve's gentler dives, and the fish life is the reason to do it.
Also known as Les Trois Moines.
Where it is and how deep
42.4783° N, 3.1492° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The boat drops you over the rocks and you settle onto the bottom near 5 m. The whole dive happens between 5 and 20 m, so there is no descent to speak of: you work the rock outward and down, and the fish come to you. Groupers are the first thing most divers notice, sitting out on the rock, which is what a reserve created in 1974 does for a site.
Around the rock the water column carries the hunters, dentex and barracudas, while brown meagre and sars stay closer to the rock and lobsters keep to the cracks. With a maximum of 20 m there is no pressure on gas or bottom time, so the dive is long and slow, and it ends with an unhurried climb back up the rock to the shallows and the boat.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Barracuda
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Banyuls-sur-Mer & the Côte Vermeille: The Banyuls centres open year-round, but the sea averages 12 °C in February against 23 °C in August, the reserve's snorkel trail runs June to September, and the Tramontane can stop boats in any month.
Know before you go
- Reserve rules apply: scuba diving is banned in the reserve's integral zone and regulated in the rest of it, so dive with a local centre or club.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Les 3 Moines?+
The dive runs between 5 and 20 m over rock inside the Banyuls-Cerbère marine reserve, which makes it one of the reserve's shallower sites.
What fish are at Les 3 Moines?+
Groupers, dentex, brown meagre, lobsters, barracudas and sars are all listed for the site, a result of the reserve's protection since 1974.
Sources
- Les 3 Moines - Scubago — Scubago
- Réserve naturelle nationale de Cerbère-Banyuls — Wikipédia
- Demande d'autorisation de plongée — Réserve Naturelle Marine de Cerbère-Banyuls — Département des Pyrénées-Orientales
More dive sites in Banyuls-sur-Mer & the Côte Vermeille
The sheltered fallback dive when the Tramontane blows
White gorgonians, nudibranchs and lobsters in the faults at 18 to 20 m
Sheer walls and rock formations between 10 and 25 m off Collioure
Wall
Drop-offs, rocks and caves between 15 and 30 m off Banyuls
Reef
Grouper town: rocks and reef at 16 to 30 m with barracuda schools
Reef
Beach entry into a marine reserve, with a signposted underwater trail
Wall
Drop-offs and caves that carry on down to 40 m
Reef
Faults and small caves between 5 and 30 m, with groupers and congers in the holes
Similar dives elsewhere
Blocks, caves and furrows in the south face that took ships' anchors
Reef
Punta Sabina
Stintino & the Asinara National Park · Italy
Octopuses mating on the granite each May
.JPG){kind=link}
A plateau below the lighthouse with barracuda, groupers and cuttlefish
Reef
La Llosa
Tabarca & Santa Pola · Spain
A 50 m rock on a migration route, with schools of large groupers