ReefSeason BETAPrologue
Atlantic sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis)
A dive briefing · Curaçao

Marie Pampoen

Dive site off Curaçao. 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.

Curaçaoreef
At this sitegeotagged 369 m from the site coordinates Atlantic sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis) · Louis Imbeau · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Atlantic blue tang (Acanthurus coeruleus)
Chapter I · Arrival

Marie Pampoen: dive site off Curaçao.

~12.090° N~68.907° W · OpenStreetMap · node/448022084
8,068open records · GBIF
368+species recorded
At this sitegeotagged 369 m from the site coordinates Atlantic blue tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) · Louis Imbeau · CC BY 4.0 · 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 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.

At this sitegeotagged 369 m from the site coordinates Atlantic blue tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) · Louis Imbeau · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Atlantic sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis)
Open media · At this sitegeotagged 369 m from the site coordinates Atlantic sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis) · Louis Imbeau · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

The surface noise falls away.

Reds go first. The world turns blue-green.

Then Marie Pampoen rises to meet you.

Atlantic sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis)
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 · 963 qualifying records
Life calendar · records per month for this site's most-recorded species (blank means not in that month's top list)
SpeciesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Slope Bass
Roughtongue Bass
Banded Basslet
Spinythroat Scorpionfish
Red barbier
Longsnout Scorpionfish
Yellow-spotted Golden Bass
Jeweled Gemfish
Rusty Goby
Munidopsis platirostris
Red Hogfish
Bladefin bass

Most-recorded species, all months

  1. Slope Bass (63)
  2. Banded Basslet (62)
  3. Roughtongue Bass (59)
  4. Jeweled Gemfish (52)
  5. Yellow-spotted Golden Bass (52)
  6. Red barbier (49)
  7. Spinythroat Scorpionfish (47)
  8. Cave Bass (46)
  9. Longsnout Scorpionfish (44)
  10. Candy Basslet (44)
  11. Bladefin bass (41)
  12. Red Hogfish (39)
  13. Rusty Goby (37)
  14. Munidopsis platirostris (36)
  15. Bicolor Basslet (35)
  16. Fat Slope Bass (31)
  17. Hakeling (30)
  18. Whitetail Reeffish (28)
  19. Golden coral shrimp (28)
  20. Spanish Flag (26)

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. 8,068 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).

Meteorological Department Curaçao · marine forecast →

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
OpenStreetMap node/448022084 · source · ODbL. OpenStreetMap (ODbL) dive-site nodes, plus two Wikidata (CC0) reef items. Crowd-sourced, approximate positions. Approximate position.
Species records
GBIF.org, CC0 & CC BY 4.0 records. By license: CC_BY_4_0: 5,022, CC0_1_0: 3,046
Dataset
EOD – eBird Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/aomfnb (2,879 records) · GBIF
Dataset
International Barcode of Life project (iBOL) · doi:10.15468/inygc6 (1,879 records) · GBIF
Dataset
NMNH Material Samples (USNM) · doi:10.15468/jb9tdf (1,535 records) · GBIF
Dataset
NMNH Extant Specimen Records (USNM, US) · doi:10.15468/hnhrg3 (1,450 records) · GBIF
Dataset
INSDC Sequences · doi:10.15468/sbmztx (102 records) · GBIF
Dataset
FishEye Collaborative Fish Sounds · doi:10.15468/eycxbx (72 records) · GBIF
Dataset
iNaturalist Research-grade Observations · doi:10.15468/ab3s5x (69 records) · GBIF
Dataset
CAS Invertebrate Zoology (IZ) · doi:10.15468/tiac99 (16 records) · GBIF
Query
https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?decimalLatitude=12.079740000000001,12.09974&decimalLongitude=-68.91685000000001,-68.89685&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 369 m from the site coordinates Atlantic sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis) · Louis Imbeau · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Arrival photo
At this sitegeotagged 369 m from the site coordinates Atlantic blue tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) · Louis Imbeau · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Gallery
7 photos, credited under each image
Species photos
Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species. Full list: Data & sources