Galdar, Canary Islands, Spain

Sardina del Norte

Sardina del Norte, the small fishing village on Gran Canaria's northwest tip, hosts a sheltered bay that is one of the most reliable shore dives on the island regardless of trade wind direction. Entry is from a concrete ramp directly into a sandy basin that gradually deepens past clusters of volcanic boulders to a wall that drops from 18 to 35 metres on the outer side. The bay is famous for its dense population of common cuttlefish from December to April, when the animals come in to mate, while octopus and broomtail wrasse are present year round. Atlantic stingrays and roughtail eagle rays patrol the sand, and angel sharks are reported almost every winter. The shallow boulder field is a classic training site, while experienced divers continue along the wall to find conger eels, large groupers and electric torpedo rays. Visibility can exceed 25 metres in calm weather. The Canary Islands sit on the eastern edge of the Atlantic and benefit from the cool, nutrient-rich Canary Current that flows south along Africa, keeping water temperatures between 18 C in late winter and 23 C in late summer and supporting a mixed Atlantic and macaronesian fauna with confirmed Canarian endemics. The archipelago is the last reliable European stronghold of the angel shark Squatina squatina, classified as critically endangered by the IUCN, and dive operators contribute regular sightings to the Angel Shark Project monitoring programme. Local dive centres operate year round and most sites can be accessed with one short boat or shore transfer.