Palm Beach diving does it again! Another action-packed day of diving off the coast of Palm Beach. This time with sharks and huge goliath groupers.
Sirena headed north to dive a reef and a wreck hoping to give the divers a taste of the diversity of diving in Palm Beach. Little did we expect just how good the encounters were going to be. Cruising along the beautiful reef with 40-50ft of visibility, we were busy enjoying the abundance of fish life covering the reef when we had some much-welcomed guests…
Two lemon sharks with an entourage of bait fish and predatory jacks swam numerous times around the group. To add to this wonderful sharky mix, we had a sandbar shark with its own entourage circling, too! By the time our hour dive was done we also encountered a hawksbill and loggerhead sea turtle, numerous eels, and countless tropical fish.
The fun was far from over for the day. Diving during this time of the year isn’t complete without a visit to any of the numerous wrecks in the area to see the aggregation of goliath groupers. Our stop… the Danny wreck!
The Danny wreck materialized before us as we slowly drifted towards it. Standing guard at its bow were dozen of massive goliath groupers — each weighing in the triple digits. A few could be heard making their loud booming sounds underwater. Surrounding the groupers were countless bait fish and a tornado of jacks eager to feast on these tiny bait fish.
As I hovered near the bow watching the groupers and baitfish, the sky appeared to fall from above in a rain of predatory jacks. Quickly the jacks swarmed in taking advantage of any bait fish that would break from the pack. The goliath groupers also took part in the fishy meal.
For an hour we observed this ballet of predator and prey. Every corner of the wreck hosted its share of groupers, bait fish, and jacks. Even deep within the confines of the wreck we could see the shier of the groupers lurking in the dark. Palm Beach is one of the very few places in the world where you can see this incredible goliath grouper aggregation. If you haven’t had a chance to see it yet don’t hesitate. It doesn’t last much longer. Best of all, you never know what other wonderful surprises diving in Palm Beach has in store for you!
