Baixa do Ferreiro de Fora
Description
Boat
7 minutes from the Santa Cruz da Graciosa Harbour, 20 minutes from the Praia Harbour
Depth
Baixa do Ferreiro de Fora
With depths ranging from between 7 and the 44 metres, depending on the diving profile you choose, this site is accessible to all divers and is suited to snorkelling and even technical dives. The top of the reef is just seven metres deep, and is the ideal place for a safety or decompression stop as you can spend time observing the cloud of small colourful fish that surround the top. These include Mediterranean rainbow wrasses (Coris julis), ornate wrasses (Thalassoma pavo), Azores chromis (Chromis limbata), grey triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) and Mystery blennies (Parablennius incognitus) – often to be found inhabiting the barnacles (Megabalanus azoricus) on this reef.
Close to the top of the reef, there is an extensive platform at 15 metres where you are perfectly placed to spot schools of pelagic fish, which are common at this site. Almaco jacks (Seriola rivoliana), white trevallies (Pseudocaranx dentex) and yellowmouth barracudas (Sphyraena viridensis) all make regular appearances.
Descending towards the bottom to a depth of 28 metres, you will find many stretches of black coral (Antipathella wollastoni). This is the ideal place to see species that live at greater depths, such as dusky groupers (Epinephelus marginatus) and barred hogfish (Bodianus scrofa).