France
Rocky Catalan coast between Argelès-sur-Mer and the Spanish border, home to France's first marine nature reserve at Cerbère-Banyuls with dusky groupers, red coral and seagrass meadows.
The Côte Vermeille stretches about 20 km from Argelès-sur-Mer past Collioure, Port-Vendres and Banyuls-sur-Mer to Cerbère at the Spanish border, where the Pyrenees meet the Mediterranean in small bays and coves. Its centrepiece for divers is the Cerbère-Banyuls Marine Nature Reserve, created in 1974 as the first of its kind in France, covering 650 hectares along 6.5 km of coast. More than 1,200 animal species are recorded there, including protected red coral, slipper lobsters, seahorses and dusky groupers. Dive clubs are based in the port of Banyuls-sur-Mer and follow a charter of good practice, and the snorkelling trail at Peyrefite offers five observation stations. The coast lies within the Gulf of Lion natural marine park, which has many dive sites along the Côte Vermeille. Source: Wikipedia, Pyrénées Méditerranée Tourist Office, Visit Occitanie