Secca del Papa
Zone B - Diving Spot with buoy reserved to the Diving Centers
- Trail Conditions: Diving
- Interest: Marine Wildlife
The site
Off the coast of Punta del Papa, just outside the Zone A, from the detrital bottom of about 45 meters, a series of calcareous reliefs rises and continues under the water. The shoal is divided into two parts by a sandy channel (Papa 1 and Papa 2) and the peak of the first relief reaches the 15m, the second the 24m. Each of the two parts is served by a buoy.
Diving here is allowed only with the authorized diving centers.
Main features
The main features of the site are two: the coralligenous habitat and the extraordinary abundance of fish. The coralligenous habitat is characterized by the widespread presence of gorgonians (Paramuricea clavata) with colors going from red to yellow and by the steep walls colonized by the yellow cluster anemones. The shoal complex attracts big-size fish which are rather confident with the divers.
The big groupers are numerous, surrounded by smaller specimens; shoals of brown meagers stop in the depressions between the reliefs; bluestreak cleaner wrasses, white seabreams, and common two-banded seabreams move in search of food, while big dentexes can be easily approached. Then there is a seasonal presence of greater amberjacks, Atlantic bonitos, common dolphinfish, and sometimes devil fish or sunfish.
