El Rosario, Canary Islands, Spain

Tabaiba Wrecks

The Tabaiba Wrecks site lies just off the small black sand cove of El Rosario on Tenerife's eastern coast and is one of the few Canarian wreck sites accessible directly from shore. The centerpiece is the El Penon, a 22 metre tugboat scuttled deliberately as an artificial reef and resting upright at 22 metres on a sand bottom. A small fishing boat lies nearby in 16 metres and a third wooden hull at 12 metres provides a shallow stop. The hulls are heavily encrusted with yellow encrusting anemones, sponges and red coral, and host resident schools of black cardinalfish inside the holds. Divers commonly see ornate wrasse, parrotfish, large barred hogfish, trumpetfish and the occasional eagle ray on the sand approach. The combination of three wrecks in different depths, easy navigation and good shelter from the trades makes Tabaiba a benchmark training and recreational dive on the island. 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.