ReefSeason BETAPrologue
Reef 247
A dive briefing · Soufrière & the west coast, Saint Lucia

Maria Islands Reef

Dive site on Saint Lucia’s west coast. 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.

St. Luciareef
Stand-in, not this sitegeotagged about 22.3 km from the site coordinates Reef 247 · WRI Staff · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Reef 247
Chapter I · Arrival

Maria Islands Reef: dive site on Saint Lucia’s west coast.

~13.736° N~60.934° W · OpenStreetMap · way/1022427960
1,382open records · GBIF
1species recorded
Stand-in, not this sitegeotagged about 22.3 km from the site coordinates Reef 247 · WRI Staff · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
II

Entry

Reef 247

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)
  • Access to the SMMA marine reserves needs a permit, available through licensed local dive operators, authorized dive leaders or the SMMA office in Soufrière. SMMA · Zoning
  • Anchoring is not allowed in the SMMA; yachts must use the moorings in the designated yacht mooring areas. SMMA · Zoning

Stand-in, not this sitegeotagged about 22.3 km from the site coordinates Reef 247 · WRI Staff · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Reef 247
Open media · Stand-in, not this sitegeotagged about 22.3 km from the site coordinates Reef 247 · WRI Staff · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The surface noise falls away.

Reds go first. The world turns blue-green.

Then Maria Islands Reef rises to meet you.

Reef 247
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 · 56 qualifying records
Life calendar · records per month for this site's most-recorded species (blank means not in that month's top list)
SpeciesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Achatina fulica

Most-recorded species, all months

  1. Achatina fulica (1)

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. 1,382 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 “Windward Caribbean Islands” region. These are NOAA Coral Reef Watch satellite figures for the whole region, not for this one site.

19852026
Reef health report · Windward Caribbean Islands

Heat stress, measured from orbit.

Degree Heating Weeks · 2026-10-136.0°C-weeks · NOAA status: Alert Level 1

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

Saint Lucia Meteorological Services · 24-hour forecast incl. seas →

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/1022427960 · source · ODbL. Site names follow the Soufrière Marine Management Association dive-site list. Positions come from OpenStreetMap (ODbL) and Wikidata (CC0); several use the nearest named bay or headland, so treat them as approximate. Approximate position.
Species records
GBIF.org, CC0 & CC BY 4.0 records. By license: CC_BY_4_0: 1,373, CC0_1_0: 9
Dataset
EOD – eBird Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/aomfnb (1,370 records) · GBIF
Dataset
iNaturalist Research-grade Observations · doi:10.15468/ab3s5x (12 records) · GBIF
Query
https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?decimalLatitude=13.726280000000001,13.74628&decimalLongitude=-60.94421,-60.92421&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 “Windward Caribbean Islands”
Hero photo
Stand-in, not this sitegeotagged about 22.3 km from the site coordinates Reef 247 · WRI Staff · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Species photos
Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species. Full list: Data & sources