El Cabrón Marine Reserve

Spain

A shore-diving marine reserve on Gran Canaria's south-east coast near Arinaga, one of only three official marine reserves in the Canary Islands and the island's principal dive destination.

Designated under Natura 2000 as ZEC ES7010053, the site covers 956.20 ha along the coast of the Agüimes municipality, listed as an EU Site of Special Scientific Interest in December 2001. No boat traffic or commercial fishing is permitted; diving is shore-based via more than ten marked routes such as El Arco Chico and Punta de la Sal, mostly 9-23 m deep. Source: MITECO, davyjonesdiving.com, grancanaria.com.