Florida

What the diving is like

Three separate kinds of diving along one coast, and the reason Florida is on this site is the third of them. The Keys are the reef. A line of shallow patch reefs and spur-and-groove formations runs the length of the island chain inside the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, mostly in 5 to 15 metres, dived from day boats out of Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon and Key West. The coral has suffered badly from disease and bleaching over the last decade and the fish are the reason to dive it now. Several large wrecks have been sunk deliberately as artificial reefs. Palm Beach and the south-east coast are drift diving. The Gulf Stream runs close inshore, so a dive is normally entered upcurrent and drifted with a surface marker while the boat follows. The current brings large animals through: goliath grouper aggregate on the wrecks in late summer, lemon sharks gather off Jupiter in winter, and turtles, eagle rays and reef sharks are routine. Blue Heron Bridge, in Phil Foster Park at Riviera Beach, is the muck. It is a shore dive in two to five metres under and around a road bridge, on sand, rubble and seagrass, and it holds an unusual concentration of small animals: frogfish, batfish, seahorses, pipefish, octopus, flying gurnards, sea robins, blennies and a long list of nudibranchs. It is entirely tide-dependent and is dived in a window of roughly an hour either side of high tide, because the water outside that window is too dirty and the current too strong.

The shape of a day

The Keys and Palm Beach are two-tank morning boat trips, back by lunchtime. Blue Heron Bridge is a shore dive planned around the tide table rather than around the day: the site is busy, parking fills, and night diving requires a permit from the county. It is normal to combine a boat trip on one coast with a bridge dive on the tide.

Getting there

Miami or Fort Lauderdale for the south-east coast and Palm Beach, with the bridge about an hour north of Fort Lauderdale. Key West has its own airport; the Keys are otherwise reached by driving the Overseas Highway, which is three to four hours end to end from Miami.

When to come

Diveable year-round. June to September is warmest and calmest and is when the goliath grouper aggregate, but it is also hurricane season. Winter is cooler, windier and the boat days are less reliable, but the lemon shark aggregation off Jupiter is a winter event. Blue Heron Bridge works in any season and depends on the tide, not the month.

Fees and what is not included

No sanctuary fee for divers in the Keys; the cost is the boat. Blue Heron Bridge is a public park with free entry, and a separate county permit is required to dive it at night.

Named sites

12 sites, described by ground and depth. What is found on each one is not published — naming the exact spot a rare animal sits on is how it gets crowded and moved on. The species recorded at this destination are listed below, and the reasoning is set out in the editorial policy.

Blue Heron Bridge

Riviera Beach · Shore · Mixed · 2–5 m

Sand, rubble, seagrass and the concrete of the bridge itself, in a tidal channel. The bottom is soft and the visibility is entirely a function of the tide.

Diveable only in a window of about an hour either side of high tide. A county permit is required to dive it at night.
Phil Foster Park snorkel trail

Riviera Beach · Shore · Mixed · 1–4 m

An artificial reef trail of limestone boulders and concrete modules laid on sand beside the bridge.

Same tide window as the bridge. Shallow enough to be worked on a single tank for a very long dive.
Molasses Reef

Key Largo · Boat · Coral · 5–20 m

Spur-and-groove limestone with sand channels running seaward between the coral ridges.
Christ of the Abyss

Key Largo · Boat · Coral · 6–8 m

Shallow patch reef and sand around a submerged bronze statue.

Busy, and usually done as the second dive of a Key Largo morning.
Spiegel Grove

Key Largo · Boat · Wreck · 18–40 m

A 155 m landing ship dock sunk as an artificial reef, sitting upright on sand.

Deep, exposed and frequently in current. Not a first wreck.
Duane and Bibb

Key Largo · Boat · Wreck · 27–40 m

Two former cutters on sand, one upright and one on its side.

Current is normal here and the mooring line is the plan.
Sombrero Reef

Marathon · Boat · Coral · 3–10 m

Shallow spur-and-groove under a light tower, with wide sand grooves between the ridges.
Looe Key

Big Pine Key · Boat · Coral · 3–10 m

A large shallow spur-and-groove formation inside a sanctuary preservation area.
Vandenberg

Key West · Boat · Wreck · 15–43 m

A 159 m missile tracking ship upright on sand, with the superstructure and dishes in the shallower half.

Large enough that a dive covers one section. Current is common.
Breakers Reef

Palm Beach · Boat · Coral · 12–18 m

A low limestone ledge running north to south with sand on either side, dived as a drift.

Entered upcurrent and drifted with a surface marker while the boat follows.
Blue Heron Bridge east side

Riviera Beach · Shore · Mixed · 2–6 m

Sand and rubble under and east of the eastern span, with more open ground and less structure than the west.
MG-111 and Mizpah corridor

Palm Beach · Boat · Wreck · 25–30 m

A line of small broken wrecks and barges on sand, dived as one drift.

Drift dive. The wrecks are markers along the route rather than the whole dive.

Site names are as the operators and guides here use them. Descriptions are drafted and need correcting by someone who dives them. Tell us what is wrong and it will be corrected.

Recorded here

175 of the 1316 species in the index have a confirmed record at Florida, ordered by how hard each is to find here.

Red lionfish

Pterois volitans

Reef and wrecks; introduced and invasive · 5–40 m

2 stars of 5, usually seen in a week

Long-arm octopus

Macrotritopus defilippi

Open sand; Blue Heron Bridge · 3–25 m

5 stars of 5, a handful of records

The other 173, recorded here but not yet photographed

Every one has a page and a record at Florida. They are listed rather than shown because nothing has been photographed or logged for them yet.

Bar jack Caranx ruber Mid-water over reef and sand
Bicolor damselfish Stegastes partitus Reef and rubble
Blue tang Acanthurus coeruleus Reef and rock
Bluehead wrasse Thalassoma bifasciatum Reef and rubble
Bluestriped grunt Haemulon sciurus Under ledges and around coral heads
Branching fire coral Millepora alcicornis Shallow reef, gorgonians and wrecks
Common sea fan Gorgonia ventalina Shallow reef, across the current
Foureye butterflyfish Chaetodon capistratus Reef and rubble
French grunt Haemulon flavolineatum Under ledges and coral heads
Giant barrel sponge Xestospongia muta Reef slope and wall
Giant Caribbean anemone Condylactis gigantea Shallow reef and rubble
Great barracuda Sphyraena barracuda Above reef and wrecks
Great star coral Montastraea cavernosa Reef and wall
Grey snapper Lutjanus griseus Mangroves, bridges and wrecks; common at Blue Heron Bridge
Ocean surgeonfish Acanthurus tractus Reef and rock
Schoolmaster snapper Lutjanus apodus Reef, wrecks and mangrove edges
Sergeant major Abudefduf saxatilis Any hard bottom, bridges and pilings
Sharpnose puffer Canthigaster rostrata Reef and rubble
Slimy sea plume Antillogorgia americana Shallow reef
Slippery dick Halichoeres bivittatus Rubble, sand and seagrass
Spotted goatfish Pseudupeneus maculatus Sand and rubble
Stoplight parrotfish Sparisoma viride Reef
Symmetrical brain coral Pseudodiploria strigosa Reef
White grunt Haemulon plumierii Reef, rubble and sand edges
Yellow goatfish Mulloidichthys martinicus Above sand and reef
Yellowtail snapper Ocyurus chrysurus Mid-water over reef
Atlantic rock-boring urchin Echinometra lucunter Sockets in shallow rock
Atlantic spotted moray Gymnothorax moringa Reef and rubble
Atlantic squirrelfish Holocentrus adscensionis Under ledges and in caves
Atlantic trumpetfish Aulostomus maculatus Reef and gorgonians
Banded butterflyfish Chaetodon striatus Reef
Bandtail puffer Sphoeroides spengleri Sand, rubble and seagrass; Blue Heron Bridge
Barred hamlet Hypoplectrus puella Reef and rubble
Blackbar soldierfish Myripristis jacobus Caves and overhangs
Blue chromis Azurina cyanea Mid-water above reef
Boulder star coral Orbicella annularis Mid-depth reef
Brown chromis Azurina multilineata Mid-water above reef
Caribbean long-spined urchin Diadema antillarum Reef crevices and rubble
Caribbean peacock flounder Bothus lunatus Sand and rubble
Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus Crevices, ledges and wrecks
Caribbean upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana Shallow mangrove and lagoon bottoms
Caribbean yellowtail damselfish Microspathodon chrysurus Shallow reef, usually on fire coral
Coney Cephalopholis fulva Reef and ledges
Corkscrew anemone Bartholomea annulata Holes in rubble and reef
Doctorfish Acanthurus chirurgus Reef and rubble
Donkey dung sea cucumber Holothuria mexicana Seagrass and sand flats
Dusky damselfish Stegastes adustus Shallow rock and rubble
Flamefish Apogon maculatus Under ledges, in holes and wrecks
Flamingo tongue Cyphoma gibbosum On sea fans and sea plumes
French angelfish Pomacanthus paru Reef and wrecks
Glassy sweeper Pempheris schomburgkii Caves and wrecks
Goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara Wrecks and ledges; the spawning aggregation, August to October
Graysby Cephalopholis cruentata Reef and rubble, under ledges
Green moray Gymnothorax funebris Reef, wrecks and ledges
Grey angelfish Pomacanthus arcuatus Reef and wrecks
Hogfish Lachnolaimus maximus Sand and reef edges
Horse-eye jack Caranx latus Mid-water over reef and wrecks
Longspine squirrelfish Holocentrus rufus Under ledges and in caves
Neon goby Elacatinus oceanops Cleaning stations on coral heads
Nurse shark Ginglymostoma cirratum Under ledges and on sand, reef and wrecks
Porkfish Anisotremus virginicus Reef and ledges
Princess parrotfish Scarus taeniopterus Reef
Queen angelfish Holacanthus ciliaris Reef and wrecks
Queen parrotfish Scarus vetula Reef
Redband parrotfish Sparisoma aurofrenatum Reef and seagrass
Redlip blenny Ophioblennius macclurei Shallow rock and coral
Rock beauty Holacanthus tricolor Reef and rocky ground
Sand diver Synodus intermedius Sand and rubble
Sand tilefish Malacanthus plumieri Open sand with rubble mounds
Smooth trunkfish Lactophrys triqueter Reef and sand
Southern stingray Hypanus americanus Sand flats and rubble; Blue Heron Bridge
Spanish hogfish Bodianus rufus Reef and ledges
Sponge brittle star Ophiothrix suensonii In sponges and gorgonians
Spotfin butterflyfish Chaetodon ocellatus Reef
Three-rowed sea cucumber Isostichopus badionotus Sand and rubble
Variegated urchin Lytechinus variegatus Seagrass beds and sand
Yellow stingray Urobatis jamaicensis Shallow sand and rubble; common at Blue Heron Bridge
Yellowhead wrasse Halichoeres garnoti Reef and rubble
Yellowline arrow crab Stenorhynchus seticornis Sponge, ledges and anemones
Atlantic bigeye Priacanthus arenatus Under ledges and on wrecks
Atlantic cornetfish Fistularia tabacaria Sand, seagrass and reef edges
Atlantic flying gurnard Dactylopterus volitans Sand and rubble; Blue Heron Bridge
Atlantic nimble spray crab Percnon gibbesi Shallow rock, often under urchins
Banded jawfish Opistognathus macrognathus Sand and rubble burrows; Blue Heron Bridge
Barbfish Scorpaena brasiliensis Sand and rubble; Blue Heron Bridge
Black durgon Melichthys niger Above the reef edge
Black grouper Mycteroperca bonaci Reef edges and wrecks
Brown garden eel Heteroconger longissimus Open sand colonies
Butter hamlet Hypoplectrus unicolor Reef and rubble
Caribbean cushion sea star Oreaster reticulatus Seagrass and sand flats
Caribbean orangespotted filefish Cantherhines pullus Reef and gorgonians
Caribbean reef shark Carcharhinus perezii Reef edges and wrecks
Caribbean reef squid Sepioteuthis sepioidea Above shallow reef and seagrass
Creole wrasse Bodianus parrae Mid-water along the reef edge
Elkhorn coral Acropora palmata Shallow reef crest
Emerald crab Mithraculus sculptus Coral crevices
Florida corallimorph Ricordea florida Mats on shallow rock and rubble
Giant basket star Astrophyton muricatum On gorgonians, open at night
Giant hermit crab Petrochirus diogenes Sand and rubble, mostly at night
Glasseye snapper Heteropriacanthus cruentatus Under ledges and in caves
Golden crinoid Davidaster rubiginosus Crevices on reef and wall
Goldentail moray Gymnothorax miliaris Reef and coral heads
Goldspot goby Gnatholepis thompsoni Open sand
Greater soapfish Rypticus saponaceus Under ledges and rubble
Green razorfish Xyrichtys splendens Open sand and seagrass; Blue Heron Bridge
Gulf toadfish Opsanus beta Debris, shells and holes; Blue Heron Bridge
Harlequin bass Serranus tigrinus Rubble and reef base
High-hat Pareques acuminatus Under ledges and in small caves
Honeycomb cowfish Acanthostracion polygonius Reef and seagrass
Lemon shark Negaprion brevirostris Shallow sand and wrecks; the winter aggregation off Jupiter
Lettuce sea slug Elysia crispata Algae on shallow rubble and reef
Loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta Reef and wrecks
Lookdown Selene vomer Bridges and pilings; Blue Heron Bridge
Mahogany snapper Lutjanus mahogoni Reef
Masked goby Coryphopterus personatus Caves and under ledges
Pederson cleaner shrimp Ancylomenes pedersoni In corkscrew anemones
Permit Trachinotus falcatus Wrecks and sand flats
Purplemouth moray Gymnothorax vicinus Reef and ledges
Queen conch Aliger gigas Seagrass and sand flats
Queen triggerfish Balistes vetula Reef and rubble
Red hind Epinephelus guttatus Reef and rubble
Rock hind Epinephelus adscensionis Rocky ground and wrecks
Rough flame scallop Ctenoides scaber Crevices in reef and under ledges
Saddled blenny Malacoctenus triangulatus Rubble and coral
Scarlet cleaner shrimp Lysmata grabhami Cleaning stations in holes and under ledges
Scribbled filefish Aluterus scriptus Reef and gorgonians
Sharptail eel Myrichthys breviceps Sand, rubble and seagrass
Slate pencil urchin Eucidaris tribuloides Under rubble and in crevices
Spotfin porcupinefish Diodon hystrix Under ledges and on wrecks
Spotted cleaner shrimp Periclimenes yucatanicus In anemones on reef
Spotted drum Equetus punctatus Under ledges and in small caves
Spotted scorpionfish Scorpaena plumieri Rock, rubble and reef base
Spotted sea hare Aplysia dactylomela Shallow rubble and seagrass
Staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis Mid-depth reef and restoration plots
Star-eye hermit crab Dardanus venosus Sand and rubble at night
Stove-pipe sponge Aplysina archeri Wall and deeper reef
Tarpon Megalops atlanticus Bridges, channels and wrecks; regular at Blue Heron Bridge
Whitespotted eagle ray Aetobatus narinari Sand flats and over reef
Yellowhead jawfish Opistognathus aurifrons Rubble-lined burrows on sand
Atlantic banded pipefish Micrognathus crinitus Rubble and algae; Blue Heron Bridge
Atlantic guitarfish Pseudobatos lentiginosus Shallow sand; Blue Heron Bridge
Atlantic sea nettle Chrysaora quinquecirrha Estuaries and coastal water, summer
Bandtail sea robin Prionotus ophryas Sand; Blue Heron Bridge
Batwing coral crab Carpilius corallinus Under coral, out at night
Caribbean reef octopus Octopus briareus Reef and rubble, at night
Cownose ray Rhinoptera bonasus Open sand and mid-water, in schools
Freckled cardinalfish Phaeoptyx conklini Inside sponges and under rubble
Fringeback nudibranch Dondice occidentalis Hydroids on rubble and pilings
Goldspotted eel Myrichthys ocellatus Rubble and seagrass, mostly at night
Great hammerhead Sphyrna mokarran Wrecks and reef edges in current
Hovering dartfish Ptereleotris helenae Rubble and sand at the reef edge
Lesser electric ray Narcine bancroftii Sand and rubble; Blue Heron Bridge
Lined seahorse Hippocampus erectus Seagrass, sponge and debris; Blue Heron Bridge
Longlure frogfish Antennarius multiocellatus Sponge on reef; also on rubble at Blue Heron Bridge
Longsnout butterflyfish Prognathodes aculeatus Deeper reef and wall
Nassau grouper Epinephelus striatus Reef and ledges, uncommon
Painted elysia Thuridilla picta Rubble and algal turf
Pillar coral Dendrogyra cylindrus Reef slope
Polka-dot batfish Ogcocephalus cubifrons Sand and rubble; Blue Heron Bridge
Queen helmet Cassis madagascariensis Buried in open sand
Rainbow parrotfish Scarus guacamaia Reef near mangrove systems
Sailfin blenny Emblemaria pandionis Worm tubes in rubble
Shortfin pipefish Cosmocampus elucens Seagrass and rubble
Shortnose batfish Ogcocephalus nasutus Sand and rubble
Sun anemone Stichodactyla helianthus Shallow rock and rubble
Tiger grouper Mycteroperca tigris Reef, at cleaning stations
Yellowfin grouper Mycteroperca venenosa Reef and wall
Atlantic triton Charonia variegata Reef and rubble at night
Bayer's felimare Felimare bayeri Sponge on deeper reef
Dwarf seahorse Hippocampus zosterae Shallow seagrass beds
Longsnout seahorse Hippocampus reidi Gorgonians and sponge
Ocellated frogfish Fowlerichthys ocellatus Sand, rubble and sponge
Silky shark Carcharhinus falciformis Open water offshore

What the diving is like

The shape of a day

Getting there

When to come

Fees and what is not included

Named sites

Blue Heron Bridge

Phil Foster Park snorkel trail

Molasses Reef

Christ of the Abyss

Spiegel Grove

Duane and Bibb

Sombrero Reef

Looe Key

Vandenberg

Breakers Reef

Blue Heron Bridge east side

MG-111 and Mizpah corridor

Recorded here

The other 173, recorded here but not yet photographed

Also in The western Atlantic