Bannerfish Bay

Also known as: Banner Fish Bay · Trash Area

Bannerfish Bay sits between the Lighthouse and Mashraba and shares its entry with the Lighthouse; from there a gentle slope leads to about 12 m over a wide seagrass meadow broken by sandy patches and small coral heads. This is less a coral dive than a hunt for small life: seahorses, sometimes several on one dive, ghost pipefish, frogfish and anglerfish, sea moths, flounders, stonefish and scorpionfish hide in the grass and sand, and a resident turtle grazes on the seagrass. A small reef at the far side is crowded with the schooling bannerfish that give the bay its name. Old car tyres and clay pots left over the years now shelter eels, octopus and anemones, and a small car wreck lies in the middle of the seagrass. The bay also holds a buoyancy park and is popular for training, marine-biology courses and night dives with squid, cuttlefish and lobsters. It suits beginners, macro photographers and anyone interested in marine biology.