Oyabu Fish Reef

Oyabu Fish Reef (大薮魚礁) is a boat-dive site about 15 minutes from Yagisawa harbour at Toi, Izu, on the west coast of the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka, intermediate and above, with current that can be fast at certain times and the best conditions on north-east to east winds. Five artificial reefs were sunk here in 1994 with the fishing cooperative, a castle-shaped structure in the centre, three pyramid reefs around it and a Venus statue at the shallowest point, with smaller units added in 1995 and a rope perimeter that makes navigation easy. A fixed net offshore shows how well fish gather here: schools of cardinalfish, cardinal species and dwarf lionfish on the structures, bannerfish, yellow snapper, chicken grunt, jack and amberjack in summer, juvenile batfish in autumn, and razorfish juveniles and sea moths on the sand between the reefs; the average depth is deep, so buoyancy and air consumption need attention.

Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.

• Hilgendorf's SaucordHelicolenus hilgendorfiiReported here · unconfirmed
• Izu ScorpionfishScorpaena neglectaReported here · unconfirmed