A dive briefing · Dominica

Tube Reef

Dive site off Dominica’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.

Dominicareef

At this site A white sponge which forms long projecting tubes DSC02160 · Peter Southwood · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Chapter I · Arrival

Tube Reef: dive site off Dominica’s west coast.

~15.608° N~61.467° W · OpenStreetMap · node/4758417738

1,886open records · GBIF

51species recorded

At this sitegeotagged 410 m from the site coordinates Close-up of sharptail eel · Ebuxbaum · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Entry

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 410 m from the site coordinates Close-up of sharptail eel · Ebuxbaum · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

**Open media** · At this site A white sponge which forms long projecting tubes DSC02160 · Peter Southwood · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The surface noise falls away.

Reds go first. The world turns blue-green.

Then Tube Reef rises to meet you.

A white sponge which forms long projecting tubes DSC02160

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 · 64 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
Bluehead Wrasse
Brown Chromis
Scaly-chinned Duckbill
French angelfish
Blackear Bass
High-hat
Swordtail Jawfish
Twospot Sea Bass
Common Lionfish
Ocean Surgeonfish
Blackbar Soldierfish
Smallmouth Grunt

Most-recorded species, all months

Bluehead Wrasse (6)
Scaly-chinned Duckbill (6)
Brown Chromis (6)
French angelfish (5)
Blackear Bass (4)
High-hat (4)
Common Lionfish (3)
Blackbar Soldierfish (3)
Smallmouth Grunt (3)
Twospot Sea Bass (3)
Swordtail Jawfish (3)
Ocean Surgeonfish (3)
Paragiopagurus pilimanus (2)
Homola minima (2)
Bulleye (2)
Yellowhead Wrasse (2)
Bladefin bass (2)
Stoplight Parrotfish (2)
Sergeant Major (2)
Yellowtail Damselfish (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. 1,886 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 “Leeward Caribbean Islands” region. These are NOAA Coral Reef Watch satellite figures for the whole region, not for this one site.

19852026

Reef health report · Leeward Caribbean Islands

Heat stress, measured from orbit.

Degree Heating Weeks · 2026-10-1310.1°C-weeks · NOAA status: Alert Level 2

NOAA CRW virtual station “Leeward 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

Conditions

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

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

Dominica Meteorological Service · 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.
Confirm access, hours and any fees with the site.[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 Tube Reef

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

**Highhat (Pareques acuminatus)**At this sitegeotagged 159 m from the site coordinates Rachel Crane · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

**Banded butterflyfish (Chaetodon striatus)**At this sitegeotagged 159 m from the site coordinates Rachel Crane · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

**French angelfish (Pomacanthus paru)**At this sitegeotagged 159 m from the site coordinates Rachel Crane · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

**Caribbean ocean surgeonfish (Acanthurus tractus)**At this sitegeotagged 159 m from the site coordinates Rachel Crane · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

**Caribbean electric ray (Narcine bancroftii)**At this sitegeotagged 159 m from the site coordinates Rachel Crane · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

**Common lionfish (Pterois volitans)**At this sitegeotagged 159 m from the site coordinates Rachel Crane · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

**Spotted goatfish (Pseudupeneus maculatus)**At this sitegeotagged 159 m from the site coordinates Rachel Crane · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Credits

Coordinates: OpenStreetMap node/4758417738 · source · ODbL. OpenStreetMap (ODbL) dive-site nodes on the northwest coast; the Soufrière–Scotts Head sites use Wikidata (CC0) positions of the nearby beach or headland, so they are approximate. Approximate position.
Species records: GBIF.org, CC0 & CC BY 4.0 records. By license: CC_BY_4_0: 1,760, CC0_1_0: 126
Dataset: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/aomfnb (1,724 records) · GBIF
Dataset: iNaturalist Research-grade Observations · doi:10.15468/ab3s5x (80 records) · GBIF
Dataset: Museum of Texas Tech University Mammalogy Collection · doi:10.15468/3z2std (29 records) · GBIF
Dataset: NMNH Extant Specimen Records (USNM, US) · doi:10.15468/hnhrg3 (27 records) · GBIF
Dataset: NMNH Material Samples (USNM) · doi:10.15468/jb9tdf (21 records) · GBIF
Dataset: Birda - Global Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/6kud7x (2 records) · GBIF
Dataset: Generic reassignment of Centropristis fuscula Poey, 1861 (Teleostei: Serranidae), with re-description of the species and comments on its geographical range and sexual system · doi:10.15468/m5kwkh (1 records) · GBIF
Dataset: USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database · doi:10.15468/ijccz9 (1 records) · GBIF
Query: https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?decimalLatitude=15.598090000000001,15.61809&decimalLongitude=-61.47662,-61.45662&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 “Leeward Caribbean Islands”
Hero photo: At this site A white sponge which forms long projecting tubes DSC02160 · Peter Southwood · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Arrival photo: At this sitegeotagged 410 m from the site coordinates Close-up of sharptail eel · Ebuxbaum · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Gallery: 7 photos, credited under each image
Species photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species. Full list: Data & sources