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Top-down view of a tiny sand islet with one thatched shade, ringed by brown reef and clear turquoise shallows — Mopion Reef, Union Island & the Tobago Cays.

Union Island & the Tobago Cays · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Reef · Drift

Mopion Reef

Caribbean reef sharks and huge lobsters off Petit St. Vincent

Photo: Stefan Schäfer, Lich · CC BY-SA 4.0

Mopion Reef lies just off Petit St. Vincent, beside Mopion, a desert island in the Southern Grenadines. It is run as a drift dive, and divers come for the sharks: Caribbean reef sharks and nurse sharks are both found on the reef.

Also known as Mopion.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Mopion Reef: typical dive to 15 m (to 50 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit15 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

12.5464° N, 61.3953° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The dive runs as a drift along the reef at an average depth of about 15 m (50 ft). Huge lobsters and moray eels live on the reef, and lots of sharks are found here, among them Caribbean reef sharks and nurse sharks sleeping in the sand.

Marine life and season

  • Reef sharks
Month-by-month season rating for Mopion Reef
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
PrimePrimePrimePrimeFairFairFairFairFairFairFairPrime

Season follows Union Island & the Tobago Cays: December to April is the dry high season; rain falls from May to November, and hurricanes threaten from July to October.

Know before you go

  • A drift dive: the group is carried along the reef by the current.

Sources

  1. Scuba Diving with Grenadines Dive — Grenadines Dive
  2. Diving & Watersports – Dive Sites — Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  3. OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap

Photo credits

More dive sites in Union Island & the Tobago Cays

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Horseshoe Reef

Nurse sharks asleep under the ledges of the Tobago Cays barrier reef

to 18 mbeginner

Drift

Mayreau Gardens

One of the two most biodiverse reef areas of the Tobago Cays park, dived as a drift

to 24 mintermediate

Reef

Petit Tabac

A resort-course reef around one of the five Tobago Cays

to 14 mbeginner

Wreck

Puruni Wreck

A 1918 naval trawler turned artificial reef off Mayreau

to 12 mbeginner

Similar dives elsewhere

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Yucab Reef

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A strong south-to-north drift over shallow reef, to 17 m

to 17 mintermediate

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Fairyland

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Drift over a 12 m to 18 m plateau, then the drop

12–18 m · max 61 mintermediate

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Brain coral colonies up to 5 m (15 ft) across

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