Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras

Wrasse Hole

Wrasse Hole is an east-end Roatán dive named for the unusually large schools of creole wrasse that aggregate here over the upper wall. The dive begins on a shallow coral plateau at 8 to 10 meters with stands of brain coral, sea rods, large barrel sponges and pillar coral, and runs to a stepped wall that drops from 18 past 25 meters before the deeper face descends out of recreational range. The wall is decorated with rope sponges, deep-water gorgonians, tube sponges and clusters of black coral. Reef life is consistently rich: hawksbill turtle, queen and French angelfish, midnight parrotfish, spotted moray, schooling French and bluestriped grunt and the site's namesake creole wrasse, which form mixed schools with chromis and small jacks. Spotted eagle rays and Caribbean reef shark are occasionally seen in the deeper blue. Conditions are usually mild with 22 to 28 meters of visibility.