Veril de Fariones

Veril de Fariones — the Fariones Reef Edge — is named for the Fariones, a group of rocky formations or points along Lanzarote's coast whose name has been applied to this section of the reef system. A 'veril' is the edge or lip of a reef drop-off — the point where the shallow reef table meets the deeper water and the reef face begins its descent — and this site explores that transitional zone where two depth regimes and their associated communities meet. The reef edge as a dive environment has a characteristic quality: a shallow reef garden above and the deeper world below, with the edge itself providing the transition between them and a concentration of marine life at the point where nutrient upwelling from depth meets the well-lit shallow zone. Fish aggregations are reliably stronger at reef edges than in the middle of shallow reef or open deep water, making the veril a consistently productive fishing spot above water and diving spot below. The Fariones reef edge on Lanzarote's southern coast is colonised by the encrusting community typical of productive reef margins: sea fans extending their gorgonian fans perpendicular to the prevailing current to maximise feeding efficiency, large sponge formations that have developed in the interface zone between shallow and deep, and the anemone carpets that cover the shadowed underside of the reef lip. The fish community here is diverse — from the schooling species that occupy the open water above the reef to the large grouper and moray eels that inhabit the edge's crevices and overhangs. The view from the reef edge into the open blue water below is one of Lanzarote's most rewarding visual experiences, the island's characteristic exceptional clarity turning what would be a limited vista at lesser visibility into a window into open Atlantic blue. Angel sharks rest on sandy sections adjacent to the reef base, and the occasional eagle ray patrol adds a dynamic element to what is already a varied and interesting dive environment.