Overview
Bannerfish Bay is partly built out of rubbish. Car tires and clay pots went into the bay over the years, and the reef took them: they now carry growth and hold animals in the same way the coral formations do, which is why a bay of sand, seagrass hills and scattered coral supports the species list it does. Sea moths live on the sand here, walking across it on modified pelvic fins rather than swimming, and they are the animal that brings photographers back.
Dive plan
The dive works the three grounds in turn: the seagrass hills, the sand patches between them and the small coral formations, none of them deep and none far apart. The tires and pots are treated as part of the reef and are worth as much attention as the coral. As a drift the bay runs south to Mashraba at around 15 m.
What to see
The sand holds sea moths, flatfish, ghost pipefish and frogfish; the seagrass holds seahorses and turtles; the coral holds octopus, morays, shrimps and scorpionfish. Bannerfish cruise the bay and gave it the name. After dark the site turns over to squid, cuttlefish and lobsters. Dolphins and manta rays pass through, which for a training bay is unexpected.
Dive sites nearby
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