Tarpon Caves
Dive site on the Half Moon Caye wall named for deep notches cut into the reef top, exiting at about 25 m. Green tube sponges, plate star coral, black coral trees and monster barrel sponges line the ledges with large black groupers; the sand has garden eels, midnight parrotfish and southern stingrays, and tarpon patrol the inside edge. It can be a shallow dive in 9-15 m or a deeper wall dive from 18 to 40 m.
Facts
- Region: Lighthouse Reef & Great Blue Hole - Belize
- Area: Half Moon Caye Natural Monument
- Depth: 9–40 m
- Level: intermediate
- Current: low
- Type: wall, reef
- Coordinates: 17.205639, -87.546194
- Highlights: black groupers, tarpon, black coral, barrel sponges, garden eels, southern stingray
- Permit: Half Moon Caye Natural Monument is co-managed by the Belize Audubon Society and charges its own entry fee; day trips usually combine it with the Blue Hole fee, and operators collect both, often in cash (Ambergris Divers lists about US$40 for both) – the official fee table could not be checked. Mooring use: contact the Half Moon Caye rangers on VHF 16 first.
- Issuer / contact: Belize Audubon Society (BAS) - co-manager of Blue Hole and Half Moon Caye Natural Monuments
- Website: https://belizeaudubon.org/contact/
- Head-office numbers and e-mail from the BAS protected-areas FAQ and contact page; the park fee is collected for the monuments (Half Moon Caye rangers, VHF channel 16).
- Tips: Choose the profile with your guide: the shallow top or the deep wall. The position is the Audubon permanent mooring. Monument fee applies (BZ$20/day non-nationals).