Puerto Rico Dive Sites

Isla de Mona & Monito · Mayagüez · Isla de Mona

Sardinera

Also known as: Playa Sardinera Reef

Depth
to 98 ft (30 m)
Access
Access not established
Type
—
Confidence
Moderate confidence

Overview

Sardinera, off Isla de Mona, is an outer-shelf area of colonized pavement with scattered coral growth, including black coral, surveyed at about 98 feet. DRNA mooring buoys here may serve anchorage and landing as well as diving. It lies within Isla de Mona Natural Reserve; check current DRNA rules.[1][2][3][4]

Habitat & marine life

  • Pavement (Outer-Shelf, Island) at station 'Sardinera'[2]
  • Pavement (Outer-Shelf, Island) at station 'Sardinera (2020)'[2]
  • colonized pavement with scattered coral growth; black coral present[1]

Marine life is what sources report having seen or commonly seeing — not a guarantee.

Safety considerations

No site-specific hazards are recorded in our sources. That does not mean there are none.

Ocean conditions change daily. Dive within your training, plan with current local information and consider a local professional guide. Full safety note.

Protected area

  • Isla de Mona Natural Reserve (Reserva Natural Isla de Mona)

    Natural Reserve · Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources · Site position falls inside the official boundary[4]

    NOAA's MPA Inventory classifies this area's protection level as "Zoned w/No Take Areas"; fishing: commercial and recreational fishing restricted. Anchoring: restricted.[4]

Regulations change. Check with DRNA (Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales) before diving.

Depth reports by source

ReportedSourceStatus
to 98 ft (30 m)Puerto Rico DRNA / NOAA (Reef Surveys)[1]Current source

Sources & verification

Last researched: 2026-10-04 · Last independently verified: not yet field-verified · Confidence: Moderate confidence

  1. 1.Monitoring of Coral Reef Communities from Natural Reserves in Puerto Rico: Isla Desecheo, Isla de Mona, Rincón, Guánica, Ponce, Caja de Muerto and Mayagüez, 2007-2008 (García-Sais et al.) — Puerto Rico DRNA / NOAA (Reef Surveys) (2008) · Scientific publication · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25
  2. 2.Puerto Rico Long-Term Coral Reef Monitoring Program Database Compilation (DwC-A v1.9, GBIF dataset b3b7d5c4-f73a-475b-a203-c6a1ddd040cd, DOI 10.15468/heuugg) — DRNA Puerto Rico / NOAA CRCP (published via OBIS-USA IPT) (2022-02-13) · Government dataset · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25
  3. 3.Noreste Mooring Buoys3_WFL1 (layer pr_mooringbuoys2) - Boyas de Amarre — Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA); published on ArcGIS Online by a DRNA Northeast Ecological Corridor reserve management officer (2021-06-10) · Government dataset · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25
  4. 4.NOAA Marine Protected Areas Inventory 2024 (feature service NOAA_MPA_Inventory_2023), State = PR — NOAA NOS Office of National Marine Sanctuaries - MPA Center (2024) · Government dataset · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25

Facts are summarised in our own words from the sources above; we do not reproduce operators’ or publishers’ descriptions. How confidence is assigned.