Erizos wrecks

Erizos Wrecks — the Sea Urchin Wrecks — takes its name from the dense sea urchin populations that colonise the wrecks resting in this section of the Puerto del Carmen seabed, their spiny forms covering every available surface in the characteristic manner of sea urchins claiming territory on productive reef structures. These beginner-accessible wrecks in Lanzarote's most popular dive zone provide the distinctive pleasures of wreck diving in the warm, clear conditions of Puerto del Carmen's sheltered waters. The wrecks — vessels or smaller craft that have been sunk deliberately or accidentally in this section of the Puerto del Carmen approach — have undergone the biological transformation typical of Lanzarote's productive coastal waters. Steel hull and superstructure have become substrate for the encrusting community: sponges building coloured colonies across every surface, sea squirts clustering in translucent masses, and the long-spined sea urchins of the Canary Islands covering horizontal surfaces and rock faces in dense aggregations. Their spines create an almost architectural appearance on the wreck exterior. Beyond the urchins, the wrecks' interior spaces and sheltered areas host the marine life community typical of artificial reefs in Lanzarote's coastal waters. Large moray eels occupy holds and enclosed sections with characteristic territorial confidence. Common octopus den in gaps in the hull, their dens marked by the accumulated shells of consumed crustaceans. Schools of bream and salema move through the superstructure using the structure as an orientation point and shelter from open-water predators. For beginner divers encountering wreck diving for the first time, Erizos Wrecks provides the complete experience in manageable conditions: the navigational interest of exploring structures with identifiable features, the dense biological community that transforms metal into reef, and the intimate wildlife encounters that wrecks consistently produce. An excellent and accessible Puerto del Carmen wreck dive.