Baja Bocarones

El Hierro is the smallest and most isolated of the Canary Islands, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with some of the clearest water in the Atlantic — visibility of twenty-five to forty metres is commonplace, occasionally exceeding fifty. The island's waters warm under the influence of its submarine volcanic activity, running several degrees above the Canary Islands average, and the marine life here reflects both the isolation and the protection of an island that takes its role as a biosphere reserve seriously. Baja Bocarones is one of the beginner-accessible entry points into this exceptional underwater world. A baja is a shoal or shallow reef structure rising from the surrounding seafloor, and Bocarones takes its name from the schooling fish — likely anchovies or similar small pelagics — that historically drew both fishermen and larger predators to this productive spot. The site sits north of the main diving hub at La Restinga, where the coastline offers a series of basalt reef formations at depths ideal for those building experience. The reef itself is typical El Hierro at its most welcoming: dark volcanic basalt colonised by dense encrusting communities, the rock's texture and colour contrasting beautifully with the clear, blue-tinted Atlantic water. The sponge communities here are exceptional — El Hierro's protected status and limited diver traffic mean these organisms have developed without the disturbance common in busier dive destinations. Anemones cover sheltered surfaces, and the invertebrate life on and around the basalt rewards the kind of close, patient observation that becomes possible when visibility is this good. The fish community at Baja Bocarones includes schools of bogues and bream, the obligatory Canary Islands wrasse species, and the large dusky grouper that are conspicuous throughout El Hierro's dive sites. Angel sharks — the iconic, critically endangered species recovering strongly around El Hierro — rest on sandy patches in the site's deeper sections, their camouflaged forms becoming visible once your eye learns to search for the telltale outline in the substrate. A wonderful introduction to El Hierro's remarkable underwater environment.