PORTOFINO MARINE PARK
The Protected Marine Park of Portofino was established in 1999 and includes the towns of Santa Margherita Ligure, Portofino and Camogli. The marine area is divided into three zones, A, B & C where free navigation, underwater fishing and anchoring are forbidden, except where specific buoys are located.
The Marine Park is one of the most bio-diverse and unique in the Mediterranean. As a result, the marine life is in abundance, unlike many other Mediterranean dive regions.
The Marine Park is also studied by biologists and scientists and visited by divers from all over the world. Diving is perfect for beginners as well as advanced divers with many multi-level dives, walls, caverns and swim-throughs.
Zone A, which includes the inland sea stretch of “Cala dell’oro”, is totally protected; all navigation, stopping, swimming, scuba diving, recreational or professional fishing are forbidden. Access is only permitted for authorised individuals for scientific research in conjunction with the University of Genoa.
In Zone B, which is between ‘Punta del Faro di Portofino’ and ‘Punta Chiappa’, some sport fishing is permitted with prior authorisation only, for local residents. Scuba diving freediving and swimming are also permitted under licence. Anchoring is forbidden.
In Zone B there are 20 dive sites, each with its own mooring. The marine life in Portofino Marine Park is incredibly rich and is characterised by a multitude of species. Big marine life, including large schools of barracuda, snapper, tuna, dentix, huge moray eels, conger eels, scorpion fish, amberjack, dog fish, octopus and lobsters and groupers are seen everyday. Moon fish appear in large numbers during May and June. Many different species of nudi-branche flourish.
The underwater landscape is an explosion of colours created by carpets and walls of violet gorgonian, red corals, Margherita di Mare (yellow cluster anemomes) and sponges. It is an underwater paradise.
Zone C covers the stretch of sea in front of Portofino and is characterised by expanses of sea grass. In this part of the sea, scuba diving, sport fishing, swimming and anchoring of boats are all permitted.