ReefSeason BETAPrologue
Atlantic peacock flounder (Bothus lunatus)
A dive briefing · Aruba

Arashi Reef

Dive site off Aruba. Here's what has been recorded at this site month by month, how the region’s reefs have weathered ocean heat, and how to prepare.

Arubareef
At this sitegeotagged 195 m from the site coordinates Atlantic peacock flounder (Bothus lunatus) · Adam Cohen · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Atlantic blue tang (Acanthurus coeruleus)
Chapter I · Arrival

Arashi Reef: dive site off Aruba.

~12.600° N~70.050° W · Wikidata
6,717open records · GBIF
90species recorded
At this sitegeotagged 297 m from the site coordinates Atlantic blue tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) · Kevin Carmody · CC0 · iNaturalist
II

Entry

Atlantic blue tang (Acanthurus coeruleus)

Entry points, depths, currents and any local rules will be added once we can verify them from official sources.

Approximate positionThese coordinates are the position of Arashi bay, to 2 decimal places. Use them for orientation only.
To verifyDepth range, entry points and current notes. We publish them only with a citation. The coordinates mark the site in general, not a mooring or entry point.

At this sitegeotagged 297 m from the site coordinates Atlantic blue tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) · Kevin Carmody · CC0 · iNaturalist

Atlantic peacock flounder (Bothus lunatus)
Open media · At this sitegeotagged 195 m from the site coordinates Atlantic peacock flounder (Bothus lunatus) · Adam Cohen · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

The surface noise falls away.

Reds go first. The world turns blue-green.

Then Arashi Reef rises to meet you.

Atlantic peacock flounder (Bothus lunatus)
IV

What lives here, by month

Pick a month. These are the species most often recorded within about a kilometre in that month, from open survey records.

Oct
October · 709 qualifying records
Life calendar · records per month for this site's most-recorded species (blank means not in that month's top list)
SpeciesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
French angelfish
Common Music Volute
Blue Tang
Bandtail puffer
Smooth trunkfish
French Grunt
Trumpetfish
Palometa
Goldspotted Eel
Barbados Miter
Stoplight Parrotfish
Banded butterflyfish

Most-recorded species, all months

  1. French angelfish (6)
  2. Common Music Volute (5)
  3. Barbados Miter (5)
  4. Bandtail puffer (4)
  5. Smooth trunkfish (4)
  6. Carrot Cone (4)
  7. Blue Tang (4)
  8. Trumpetfish (3)
  9. French Grunt (3)
  10. Goldspotted Eel (3)
  11. Palometa (3)
  12. Prunum marginatum (3)
  13. Queen Conch (2)
  14. Caribbean spiny lobster (2)
  15. Giant Caribbean anenone (2)
  16. Emerald nerite (2)
  17. Reticulate cowrie-helmet (2)
  18. Fourspot trivia (2)
  19. Minute dwarf olive (2)
  20. Flying gurnard (2)

GBIF.org (2026-10-15), occurrence records within ~1 km, licensed CC0 or CC BY 4.0 only. Birds and land animals are excluded. Counts reflect survey effort, not abundance. 6,717 qualifying records. See them on GBIF. Common names: Wikidata (CC0) / GBIF. Species photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species.

V

Forty-one summers of heat

Each stripe is one year since 1985, colored by its peak heat stress across NOAA's “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire” region. These are NOAA Coral Reef Watch satellite figures for the whole region, not for this one site.

19852026
Reef health report · Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire

Heat stress, measured from orbit.

Degree Heating Weeks · 2026-10-131.3°C-weeks · NOAA status: Bleaching Warning

NOAA CRW virtual station “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire”. NOAA's alert thresholds are 4 °C-weeks (Alert Level 1) and 8 °C-weeks (Alert Level 2). Station page · Method. Credit: NOAA Coral Reef Watch.

Peak per year · dashed lines at 4, 8 and 16 °C-weeks
The past twelve months
VI

Conditions

Average sea temperature through the year. Check the live readings before you go.

Average sea surface temperature by month: NOAA CRW “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire” station climatology (monthly means).

Departamento Meteorologico Aruba · forecasts →

Buoy readings are measurements; forecasts are models. Use them for planning only, and assess conditions on site. Depth and visibility data aren't listed until we can cite a source.

VII

Plan & prepare

  1. Read the official marine forecast the night before.Offshore, wind and sea state decide the day.
  2. Confirm access, hours and any fees with the site.[Placeholder: verified operator list to come]
  3. Study this month's species above.You'll recognise more when you know the names.
  4. Hands off, fins up, buoyancy dialled. Log what you see.Your sightings can become tomorrow's open data.

Credits

Coordinates
Wikidata Q31882697 (CC0) · position of Arashi bay, to 2 decimal places. Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (ODbL) features. Approximate positions; two use the named bay or island nearby.
Species records
GBIF.org, CC0 & CC BY 4.0 records. By license: CC_BY_4_0: 6,677, CC0_1_0: 40
Dataset
EOD – eBird Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/aomfnb (6,529 records) · GBIF
Dataset
iNaturalist Research-grade Observations · doi:10.15468/ab3s5x (107 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Natural History Museum Rotterdam - Specimens · doi:10.15468/kwqaay (60 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Birda - Global Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/6kud7x (10 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Delaware Museum of Nature and Science – Mollusks · doi:10.15468/lfwzak (3 records) · GBIF
Dataset
ZOBODAT (Zoological Botanical Database) · doi:10.15468/ynjblx (3 records) · GBIF
Dataset
NMNH Extant Specimen Records (USNM, US) · doi:10.15468/hnhrg3 (2 records) · GBIF
Dataset
University of Miami, Voss Marine Invertebrate Collections · doi:10.15468/qmckjq (1 records) · GBIF
Query
https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?decimalLatitude=12.59,12.61&decimalLongitude=-70.06,-70.03999999999999&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&taxonKey=44&taxonKey=206&taxonKey=229&taxonKey=136&taxonKey=225&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&limit=0
Heat stress & SST
NOAA Coral Reef Watch, 5 km Regional Virtual Station “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire”
Hero photo
At this sitegeotagged 195 m from the site coordinates Atlantic peacock flounder (Bothus lunatus) · Adam Cohen · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Arrival photo
At this sitegeotagged 297 m from the site coordinates Atlantic blue tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) · Kevin Carmody · CC0 · iNaturalist
Gallery
7 photos, credited under each image
Species photos
Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species. Full list: Data & sources