Banyuls-sur-Mer & the Côte Vermeille · France · Wall · Reef
Sec de la Daurade
Sheer walls and rock formations between 10 and 25 m off Collioure
Area photo: Florian Pépellin · CC BY-SA 3.0
A shoal off Collioure whose name is the French for gilt-head bream, where rock formations and sheer walls lie between 10 and 25 m. It is dived by intermediate and advanced divers for the terrain and the fish on it: gilt-head bream over the rock, groupers on the walls and moray eels in the cracks.
Where it is and how deep
42.5257° N, 3.1035° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
You descend onto the shoal and follow the rock to its edge, where it drops in sheer walls. The dive works around the formations, using the walls as the route and the top of the shoal as the reference, with the whole site lying between 10 and 25 m so that the deepest ground is at the base of the walls and the shallowest on top.
The walls carry the life. Groupers hold on the faces and in the recesses, moray eels sit in the cracks, and the gilt-head bream that give the site its name move over the rock above. When the plan calls for it, the return is up the wall to the top of the shoal, which serves as the safety stop before the ascent to the boat.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
| 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 Sec de la Daurade?+
The site lies at depths of between 10 and 25 m, with rock formations on top and sheer walls dropping to the deeper ground.
Sources
- Sec de la Daurade - Scubago — Scubago
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