Banyuls-sur-Mer & the Côte Vermeille · France · Reef
Mérouville
Grouper town: rocks and reef at 16 to 30 m with barracuda schools
Area photo: Florian Pépellin · CC BY-SA 3.0
The name means 'grouper town', and that is the point of the site: a field of rocks and reef between 16 and 30 m off Banyuls-sur-Mer where groupers are the certainty and moray eels, octopus, dentex and schools of barracuda are the supporting cast. The rocks run both ways from the drop, so the dive works heading north or south.
Also known as Merouville.
Where it is and how deep
42.4798° N, 3.1579° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
You drop onto rock at around 16 m and choose a direction: the rocks and reef continue whether you head north or south, and the site rewards either. The bottom is a spread of rocks and reef between 16 and 30 m, so the profile is your own to set, deeper on the outer rocks and shallower back toward the drop.
The groupers are the reason for the name, sitting on the rock and in the gaps between the boulders. Moray eels and octopus use the same holes; dentex work the edges, and schools of barracuda hang off the rock in the open water. The dive ends by turning back the way you came and climbing through the rocks toward the drop point, finishing over the shallower rock near 16 m. It is an unhurried dive: the animals are resident, so there is no need to cover ground.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- 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.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Mérouville?+
The rocks and reef lie between 16 and 30 m below the surface, and the site extends both north and south of the drop point.
What will I see at Mérouville?+
Groupers above all, which is what the name means, plus moray eels, octopus, dentex and schools of barracuda.
Sources
- Merouville - Scubago — Scubago
More dive sites in Banyuls-sur-Mer & the Côte Vermeille
A 95 m WWII escort cut in two by a torpedo, mast top at 25 m, bow at 50 m
White gorgonians, nudibranchs and lobsters in the faults at 18 to 20 m
The sheltered fallback dive when the Tramontane blows
Reef
Faults and small caves between 5 and 30 m, with groupers and congers in the holes
Reef
Beach entry into a marine reserve, with a signposted underwater trail
Wreck
Broken collier at 44 m; follow the wreckage to a bow with its anchors still in place
Wreck
A 99 m collier on her keel at 45 m, stern broken off, emergency propeller still visible
Wall
Drop-offs, rocks and caves between 15 and 30 m off Banyuls
Similar dives elsewhere
A 50-minute lap of a rocky islet a mile off Alyko Bay
Rocky plateaus and small caves stepping from 8 m down to 30 m
Grouper, barracuda and fan mussels on rocks at 18–20 m
.JPG){kind=link}
Barracuda circling over a reef 50 m off the beach