Marloes, Wales, United Kingdom

Skomer Marine Conservation Zone

The Skomer Marine Conservation Zone surrounds Skomer Island off the Pembrokeshire coast and was designated in 1990 as the first statutory Marine Nature Reserve in Wales. Its rocky reefs, kelp forests, vertical walls and gullies offer some of the richest temperate marine life in the United Kingdom. Diveable depths range from the surface to about 25 metres on the surrounding reefs, with notable sites including the Garland Stone, the Mew Stone, North Wall and Rye Rocks. The walls and overhangs are blanketed with jewel anemones in red, orange, pink and white, plumose anemones, dead man's fingers, sponges, hydroids and pink coralline algae. Atlantic grey seals are resident around the island year-round and frequently approach divers, especially in the autumn pupping season. Other species include ballan and cuckoo wrasse, pollack, conger eels, lobsters, edible crabs and the occasional sunfish. Visibility commonly reaches 8 to 15 metres in summer and water temperature varies between 9 and 16 degrees Celsius. Currents are moderate to strong and dives are timed around slack water. Boats run from Martin's Haven.