Skerries Bank

Skerries Bank is a 6.5km sand-and-shell ridge off Start Point, south Devon, inside the 250km² Skerries Bank and Surrounds MCZ, protecting pink sea fan, spiny lobster and a documented flatfish nursery. Depths run 10-20m over shifting sand, coarse sediment and patches of circalittoral rock, with moderate tidal streams rewarding slack-water timing. Visibility averages 8m. Spring is the draw: common cuttlefish gather in adjacent Start Bay each April-May to mate and lay eggs, though the Maywater plankton bloom can dim viz through the peak. Undulate ray, catshark, hermit crabs, dab and sole work the sand; basking sharks pass offshore in late spring/summer. Boat-only access, best for intermediate divers comfortable with current and shifting viz over a bank built for life, not scenery.