Gladden Spit
La profondeur indique la plage entre le sommet du site et son maximum habituel ; le « niveau de certification recommandé » correspond au niveau généralement demandé par les opérateurs selon les agences grand public, et non à une règle légale. Les courants et la visibilité varient chaque jour — considérez toutes ces informations comme des estimations de planification.
Gladden Spit works on a lunar timetable. For a window around the full moons of spring, thousands of cubera and dog snappers rise off the promontory at dusk to spawn, and the milky clouds they release call in the biggest fish in the sea. Whale sharks spiral up through the spawn with mouths wide, sometimes surfacing beside the boats. Divers hang as a disciplined mid-water group — no chasing, no flash barrage — while the guides read the water. Some trips hit the jackpot; plenty see spawning snappers and no shark, and sightings have grown patchier over the years. Go for the event, and count the shark as grace.
Le moment pour lequel vous venez: Whale sharks feeding on snapper spawn, massed spawning aggregations, wild blue-water atmosphere.
Topographie: A promontory of the barrier reef dropping into deep water; dives hang over the blue where snappers mass to spawn.
Courant: Open water off the reef elbow; expect drift and swell.
Entrée: Runs from Placencia in spring; groups drift mid-water in formation under guide control.
À savoir avant de plonger
Dangers: Blue-water disorientation with no visual bottom, dusk timing, and boat traffic at the surface.
Permis & règlements: Reserve fee and licensed guides required; boat numbers at the aggregation are capped.
Conservation: The spawning aggregation is the reserve's reason for being; strict encounter rules (distance, numbers, no touching) are enforced by ranger patrols.
Qui vous croiserez
Pour les photographes
Grand angle: ★★★★☆ · Macro: ★☆☆☆☆ — note 1–5 des éditeurs sur ce que ce site offre à chaque style de prise de vue