ReefSeason BETAPrologue
Four-eyed butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus)
A dive briefing · British Virgin Islands

The Indians

Dive site in the British 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.

British Virgin Islandspinnacle
At this sitegeotagged 5 m from the site coordinates Four-eyed butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) · Dan Schofield · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Artichoke coral (Scolymia cubensis)
Chapter I · Arrival

The Indians: dive site in the British Virgin Islands.

~18.332° N~64.629° W · Wikidata
329open records · GBIF
51species recorded
At this sitegeotagged 11 m from the site coordinates Artichoke coral (Scolymia cubensis) · Dan Schofield · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
II

Entry

Artichoke coral (Scolymia cubensis)

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)

At this sitegeotagged 11 m from the site coordinates Artichoke coral (Scolymia cubensis) · Dan Schofield · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Four-eyed butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus)
Open media · At this sitegeotagged 5 m from the site coordinates Four-eyed butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) · Dan Schofield · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

The surface noise falls away.

Reds go first. The world turns blue-green.

Then The Indians rises to meet you.

Four-eyed butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus)
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 · 11 qualifying records
Life calendar · records per month for this site's most-recorded species (blank means not in that month's top list)
SpeciesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Common sea fan
Queen Parrotfish
Trumpetfish
Stoplight Parrotfish
Flamingo tongue snail
Bar jack
Blue Tang
Foureye butterflyfish
Striped Parrotfish
Chain Moray
Dog snapper
Sergeant Major

Most-recorded species, all months

  1. Common sea fan (5)
  2. Trumpetfish (4)
  3. Queen Parrotfish (4)
  4. Stoplight Parrotfish (4)
  5. Flamingo tongue snail (4)
  6. Foureye butterflyfish (3)
  7. Bar jack (3)
  8. Striped Parrotfish (3)
  9. Blue Tang (3)
  10. Great Star Coral (2)
  11. Blue Bell Tunicate (2)
  12. Sharknose Goby (2)
  13. Schoolmaster Snapper (2)
  14. Dog snapper (2)
  15. Sergeant Major (2)
  16. Finger Coral (2)
  17. Mustard Hill Coral (2)
  18. Blue Chromis (2)
  19. Chain Moray (2)
  20. Anilocra chaetodontis (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. 329 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 (~18 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
Wikidata Q3521377 (CC0). Wikidata (CC0) items for the RMS Rhone and HMS Astraea wrecks and for named islands, rocks and points; most mark the nearby island or point, so treat them as approximate.
Species records
GBIF.org, CC0 & CC BY 4.0 records. By license: CC_BY_4_0: 319, CC0_1_0: 10
Dataset
EOD – eBird Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/aomfnb (238 records) · GBIF
Dataset
iNaturalist Research-grade Observations · doi:10.15468/ab3s5x (89 records) · GBIF
Dataset
CAS Invertebrate Zoology (IZ) · doi:10.15468/tiac99 (2 records) · GBIF
Query
https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?decimalLatitude=18.3218,18.341800000000003&decimalLongitude=-64.6388,-64.6188&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 5 m from the site coordinates Four-eyed butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) · Dan Schofield · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Arrival photo
At this sitegeotagged 11 m from the site coordinates Artichoke coral (Scolymia cubensis) · Dan Schofield · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist
Gallery
7 photos, credited under each image
Species photos
Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species. Full list: Data & sources