St. Vincent & The Grenadines
The underwater wildlife around St Vincent and the Grenadines is
varied and beautiful, with a riot of fish of all shapes and sizes. There
are many types and colours of coral, including black coral at a depth
of only 30 feet in places. On the New Guinea Reef (Petit Byahaut)
you can find three types of black coral in six different colours. The
coral is protected so do not remove any. There are 10 marine
protected areas including the northeast coast and the Devil’s Table in
Bequia, Isle de Quatre, all Mustique, the east coast of Canouan, all of
Mayreau, the Tobago Cays, the whole of Palm Island, Petit St
Vincent and the surrounding reefs. Spearfishing is strictly forbidden to
visitors and no one is allowed to spear a lobster. Buying lobster out of
season (1 May-30 September) is illegal as is buying a female lobster
with eggs. Fishing for your own consumption is allowed outside the
protected areas. Contact the Fisheries Department for more
information on rules and regulations.
There are facilities for scuba diving, snorkelling, deep sea fishing,
windsurfing and waterskiing, with instructors for novices. There is reef
diving, wall diving, drift diving and wrecks to explore. The St Vincent
reefs are fairly deep, at between 55 to 90 feet, so scuba diving is
more rewarding than snorkelling. Dive sites include Bottle Reef, the
Forest, the Garden, New Guinea Reef and the Wall. In Kingstown
Harbour there are three wrecks at one site, the Semistrand, another
cargo freighter and an ancient wreck stirred up by Hurricane Hugo, as
well as two cannons, a large anchor and several bathtubs from the old
wreck.
Bequia is also considered excellent, with a leeward wall and 30 dive
sites around the island and nearby, reached by boat within 15
minutes. The Devil’s Table is good for snorkelling as well as diving;
other dive sites are M/S Lirero, the Wall off West Cay, the Bullet, the
Boulders and Manhole. The best snorkelling is found in the Tobago
Cays and Palm Island. There is snorkelling and diving around most of
the other islands with at least one dive shop on each inhabited island.
As well as the specialist companies, many of the hotels offer
equipment and services for their guests and others.
