Long Caye, Lighthouse Reef Atoll, Belize

Long Caye Aquarium

Long Caye Aquarium, sometimes called Long Caye Wall, runs along the western edge of Long Caye in Lighthouse Reef Atoll. The reef top sits between 8 and 12 metres and a vertical drop plunges past 40 metres into the open Caribbean. The wall is decorated with vase sponges, rope sponges, deep-water sea fans, plate corals and stands of black coral below 30 metres. The shallow plateau hosts large groupers, schoolmasters, queen angelfish, midnight parrotfish and clouds of creole wrasse. Eagle rays cruise the wall in the early morning, and Caribbean reef sharks patrol the deeper sections. The site frequently has a mild northbound current that lets divers drift along the wall and exit over the sand plateau. Visibility ranges from 25 to 40 metres in the dry season. Long Caye Aquarium is a staple of the Lighthouse Reef Aggressor and Sun Dancer itineraries and is suitable for divers with at least open water plus deep training, given the temptation to drift below the recreational limit on the wall.