A dive briefing · Belize Barrier Reef & atolls, Belize

Hol Chan Cut

Dive site on the Belize Barrier Reef or its offshore atolls. 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.

Belizereef

At this sitegeotagged 679 m from the site coordinates Lionfish - The reef destroyer · Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Chapter I · Arrival

Hol Chan Cut: dive site on the Belize Barrier Reef or its offshore atolls.

~17.863° N~87.977° W · OpenStreetMap · node/1574464135

174open records · GBIF

63species recorded

At this sitegeotagged 8 m from the site coordinates Dog snapper (Lutjanus jocu) · liam1294 · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Entry

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)

Hol Chan Marine Reserve: you may dive and snorkel in the recreational zones only after registering and being briefed on the reserve rules; scuba only if you are certified or on a course run by a certified instructor. Belize Fisheries Department · Hol Chan Marine Reserve
Hol Chan: fishing and feeding fish are prohibited, gloves are prohibited, and no gear other than fins and mask is allowed. Belize Fisheries Department · Hol Chan Marine Reserve
Scuba diving is prohibited within the exclusive recreational area of Shark Ray Alley. Belize Fisheries Department · Hol Chan Marine Reserve

At this sitegeotagged 8 m from the site coordinates Dog snapper (Lutjanus jocu) · liam1294 · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

**Open media** · At this sitegeotagged 679 m from the site coordinates Lionfish - The reef destroyer · Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The surface noise falls away.

Reds go first. The world turns blue-green.

Then Hol Chan Cut rises to meet you.

Lionfish - The reef destroyer

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 · 0 qualifying records

Life calendar · records per month for this site's most-recorded species (blank means not in that month's top list)

Species	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Dog snapper
Bluestriped Grunt
Nurse shark
Horse-eye jack
Southern Stingray
Bluehead Wrasse
Hogfish
Bar jack
Gray Snapper
Schoolmaster Snapper
Common sea fan
Great barracuda

Most-recorded species, all months

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. 174 qualifying records. See them on GBIF. Common names: Wikidata (CC0) / GBIF. Species photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species.

Forty-one summers of heat

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

19852026

Reef health report · Belize

Heat stress, measured from orbit.

Degree Heating Weeks · 2026-10-1314.8°C-weeks · NOAA status: Alert Level 2

NOAA CRW virtual station “Belize”. 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

Conditions

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

Average sea surface temperature by month: NOAA CRW “Belize” station climatology (monthly means).

National Meteorological Service of Belize · 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

Read the official marine forecast the night before.Offshore, wind and sea state decide the day.
Check the cited local rules above and pay any park fee before you dive.[Placeholder: verified operator list to come]
Study this month's species above.You'll recognise more when you know the names.
Hands off, fins up, buoyancy dialled. Log what you see.Your sightings can become tomorrow's open data.

◎

Photographs from Hol Chan Cut

Openly licensed photos, each checked for location against its title, description, category or geotag. Labels show how close each one is to the site.

**Yellow goatfish (Mulloidichthys martinicus)**At this sitegeotagged 10 m from the site coordinates Josiah Londerée · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

**Caribbean bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum)**At this sitegeotagged 10 m from the site coordinates Josiah Londerée · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

**Black margate (Anisotremus surinamensis)**At this sitegeotagged 26 m from the site coordinates Josiah Londerée · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

**Beaugregory (Stegastes leucostictus)**At this sitegeotagged 31 m from the site coordinates Josiah Londerée · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

**Yellowhead wrasse (Halichoeres garnoti)**At this sitegeotagged 31 m from the site coordinates Josiah Londerée · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

**Western atlantic trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus)**At this sitegeotagged 31 m from the site coordinates Josiah Londerée · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

**Grey angelfish (Pomacanthus arcuatus)**At this sitegeotagged 31 m from the site coordinates Josiah Londerée · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Credits

Coordinates: OpenStreetMap node/1574464135 · source · ODbL. Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (ODbL) features. These are approximate positions, not official mooring coordinates. Approximate position.
Species records: GBIF.org, CC0 & CC BY 4.0 records. By license: CC_BY_4_0: 131, CC0_1_0: 43
Dataset: iNaturalist Research-grade Observations · doi:10.15468/ab3s5x (161 records) · GBIF
Dataset: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/aomfnb (13 records) · GBIF
Query: https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?decimalLatitude=17.85277,17.872770000000003&decimalLongitude=-87.98716,-87.96715999999999&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 “Belize”
Hero photo: At this sitegeotagged 679 m from the site coordinates Lionfish - The reef destroyer · Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Arrival photo: At this sitegeotagged 8 m from the site coordinates Dog snapper (Lutjanus jocu) · liam1294 · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Gallery: 7 photos, credited under each image
Species photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species. Full list: Data & sources