ReefSeason BETAPrologue
Yellowhead jawfish (Opistognathus aurifrons)
A dive briefing · St. Croix, St. Thomas & St. John, US Virgin Islands

Eagle Shoal

Dive site in the US Virgin Islands. 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.

US Virgin Islandsreef
At this sitegeotagged 53 m from the site coordinates Yellowhead jawfish (Opistognathus aurifrons) · Pauline Walsh Jacobson · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Drunk-Bay-Beach Saint-John-VI 2022-04-24 B
Chapter I · Arrival

Eagle Shoal: dive site in the US Virgin Islands.

~18.306° N~64.690° W · OpenStreetMap · way/893436066
250open records · GBIF
36species recorded
Near this sitegeotagged about 1.3 km from the site coordinates Drunk-Bay-Beach Saint-John-VI 2022-04-24 B · Eoghanacht · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
II

Entry

Drunk-Bay-Beach Saint-John-VI 2022-04-24 B

Shore and boat entries vary by site. We list only rules we can cite from official sources; entry points, depths and currents will be added once we can verify them.

Approximate positionThese coordinates come from a crowd-sourced map or Wikidata item, not an official mooring list. 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.
Local rules (cited)
  • Buck Island Reef National Monument: scuba diving is allowed only at the two designated scuba moorings in the north lagoon, not on the underwater trail. Do not stand on or handle corals. NPS · Buck Island Reef NM
  • Buck Island: private boats may anchor only in the anchorage area off West Beach. NPS · Buck Island Reef NM

Near this sitegeotagged about 1.3 km from the site coordinates Drunk-Bay-Beach Saint-John-VI 2022-04-24 B · Eoghanacht · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Yellowhead jawfish (Opistognathus aurifrons)
Open media · At this sitegeotagged 53 m from the site coordinates Yellowhead jawfish (Opistognathus aurifrons) · Pauline Walsh Jacobson · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

The surface noise falls away.

Reds go first. The world turns blue-green.

Then Eagle Shoal rises to meet you.

Yellowhead jawfish (Opistognathus aurifrons)
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 · 5 qualifying records
Life calendar · records per month for this site's most-recorded species (blank means not in that month's top list)
SpeciesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Massive Starlet Coral
Mustard Hill Coral
Lettuce Coral
Great Star Coral
Bumpy star coral
Blushing Star Coral
Boulder star coral
Ten-ray Star Coral
Lamarck's sheet coral
Maze Coral
Lesser Starlet Coral
Symmetrical brain coral

Most-recorded species, all months

  1. Massive Starlet Coral (29)
  2. Mustard Hill Coral (26)
  3. Lettuce Coral (17)
  4. Great Star Coral (15)
  5. Bumpy star coral (13)
  6. Blushing Star Coral (13)
  7. Boulder star coral (12)
  8. Ten-ray Star Coral (11)
  9. Lamarck's sheet coral (11)
  10. Maze Coral (7)
  11. Lesser Starlet Coral (6)
  12. Finger Coral (6)
  13. Symmetrical brain coral (6)
  14. Domed star coral (4)
  15. Fragile saucer coral (3)
  16. Grooved brain coral (3)
  17. Lowrelief Lettuce Coral (3)
  18. Boulder brain coral (2)
  19. Rose Coral (2)
  20. Common Lionfish (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. 250 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 “Virgin Islands” region. These are NOAA Coral Reef Watch satellite figures for the whole region, not for this one site.

19852026
Reef health report · Virgin Islands

Heat stress, measured from orbit.

Degree Heating Weeks · 2026-10-139.5°C-weeks · NOAA status: Alert Level 2

NOAA CRW virtual station “Virgin Islands”. 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 “Virgin Islands” station climatology (monthly means).

NWS San Juan · marine forecasts (Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands) →NDBC 41052 · South of St. John, USVI (~10 km, open ocean) →

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. Check the cited local rules above and pay any park fee before you dive.[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
OpenStreetMap way/893436066 · source · ODbL. Wikidata (CC0), mostly from US Geological Survey place names, plus one OpenStreetMap (ODbL) reef. Several use the named bay, cay or island, so treat them as approximate. Approximate position.
Species records
GBIF.org, CC0 & CC BY 4.0 records. By license: CC_BY_4_0: 246, CC0_1_0: 4
Dataset
NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program Coral Demographic Data · doi:10.7289/v5vd6wts (142 records) · GBIF
Dataset
NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program Coral Benthic Assessment Data · doi:10.7289/v5vd6wts (54 records) · GBIF
Dataset
EOD – eBird Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/aomfnb (37 records) · GBIF
Dataset
iNaturalist Research-grade Observations · doi:10.15468/ab3s5x (8 records) · GBIF
Dataset
KUBI Mammalogy Collection · doi:10.15468/a3woj7 (4 records) · GBIF
Dataset
University of Miami, Voss Marine Invertebrate Collections · doi:10.15468/qmckjq (2 records) · GBIF
Dataset
USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database · doi:10.15468/ijccz9 (2 records) · GBIF
Dataset
LACM Vertebrate Collection · doi:10.15468/77rmwd (1 records) · GBIF
Query
https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?decimalLatitude=18.29571,18.315710000000003&decimalLongitude=-64.69969,-64.67969&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 “Virgin Islands”
Hero photo
At this sitegeotagged 53 m from the site coordinates Yellowhead jawfish (Opistognathus aurifrons) · Pauline Walsh Jacobson · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Arrival photo
Near this sitegeotagged about 1.3 km from the site coordinates Drunk-Bay-Beach Saint-John-VI 2022-04-24 B · Eoghanacht · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Gallery
7 photos, credited under each image
Species photos
Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species. Full list: Data & sources