Little Rock – Seal Rocks NSW Australia
The Little Rock is the smaller of the two islands east of the Seal Rocks’
lighthouse.
There are two different ways to dive here:
1. A dive around one quadrant of the island:
The northwest side of the island is 12 to 20 metres deep with huge, garage
size, boulders dominating the bottom. There are a lot of swim throughs under
these boulders; a torch will reveal masses of fish sheltering there. These boulders
are home to “Bicentennial” a massive resident black cod. He is about
1.8 metres long and would weigh over 100 kilos. He is pitch black in colour
with only a few lighter patches, first encounters with him usually take the
form of a diver peering under a boulder, and as the smaller fish part, the diver’s
torch illuminates a black shape dominated by a huge mouth. “Bicentennial”
like most of these cod is very shy, and he will take flight if unduly disturbed.
This is the area where in the past we have seen the greatest aggregations of Grey Nurse Sharks anywhere The most nurses that we ever encountered here was estimated at over 200, this is before they fell prey to improper fishing practices. There were so many sharks they were literally four deep in the gutters. These days we do encounter twenty to thirty sharks in the same area.
Improper fishing practices – conservation / drop lines
2. Guided circumnavigation of the island:
Maximum depth on this dive can be restricted to under 20 metres, a lot of the
dive is in the 15 metre range and shallower. There is a gutter here that the
small Grey Nurse Sharks inhabit, a sanctuary in which we often see brand new
pups. This is an extremely important area for the continued survival of the
Grey Nurses. Grey Nurse Shark recovery program – conservation. At a very
steady rate of progress divers should be able to swim right around the island,
carefully monitoring their depth, in around 30 minutes.
The Little Rock, particularly around the northwest quadrant, is a very prolific location for fish life. Yellowtail kingfish, snapper, bonito, tuna and jewfish (mulloway) are all seen here. They arrive in schools to predate upon the clouds of baitfish, yellowtail and slimy mackerel that are found here.