Puerto Rico Dive Sites

Isla Desecheo · Mayagüez · Isla Desecheo

Bomber Anchor Valley

Also known as: Puerto Botes · Puerto Botes 15m · Puerto Botes 20m · Puerto Botes Reef · Botes · Desecheo inner shelf - Puerto Botes · Desecheo mid shelf - Puerto Botes · Puerto do Botes/Bomber Anchor Valley · Puerto do Botes · Puerto de Botes

Depth
49–66 ft (15–20 m)
Access
Boat dive
Type
Spur & groove / canyons · Patch reef
Confidence
Moderate confidence

Overview

Bomber Anchor Valley, also known as Puerto Botes, is a boat site on the west coast of Isla Desecheo with spur-and-groove and patch reefs. Monitoring stations sit at about 49 to 66 feet, and a 2005 monitoring report found live coral cover remarkably constant since 1999; a 1998 guide gave 35 to 70 feet. Sea turtles, moray eels, lobsters and nurse sharks are reported. It lies within Isla de Desecheo Marine Reserve and reportedly the Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge; check current rules.[1][2][3][4][5]

Site characteristics

  • Spur & groove / canyons[3]
  • Patch reef[1]
  • Reef[6]

Habitat & marine life

  • Patch reef (Outer-Shelf, Island) at station 'Puerto Botes 15m'[2]
  • Patch reef (Outer-Shelf, Island) at station 'Puerto Botes 20m'[2]
  • sea turtles[3]
  • moray eels[3]
  • lobsters[3]
  • nurse sharks[3]

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

Access

Experience & conditions

  • SSI (Scuba Schools International): “SSI blog lists as shallow and suitable for all levels”[3]

Attributed descriptions from sources, not our rating. Conditions vary; your training, experience and the day’s conditions decide.

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 Desecheo Marine Reserve (Reserva Marina Isla de Desecheo)

    Marine Reserve · Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources · Site position falls inside the official boundary[5]

    NOAA's MPA Inventory classifies this area's protection level as "No Take"; fishing: commercial and recreational fishing prohibited. Anchoring: restricted.[5]

  • Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge (Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre de Desecheo)

    National Wildlife Refuge · U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Reported by a source as within this area[5]

    NOAA's MPA Inventory classifies this area's protection level as "No Access"; fishing: commercial and recreational fishing prohibited. Anchoring: prohibited.[5]

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

Depth reports by source

ReportedSourceStatus
49–66 ft (15–20 m)García-Sais JR et al. (Reef Surveys) for DRNA/NOAA[1]Current source
to 56 ft (17 m)Puerto Rico DRNA Marine Resources Division[6]Current source
35–70 ft (11–21 m)Colleen Ryan & Brian Savage / Complete Dive Guide Publications[4]Historical (1998)

Historical record

What a historical source reported at the time. Not verified as current — access, moorings, reef condition and names may have changed.

Listed as “Puerto do Botes/Bomber Anchor Valley” · 35–70 ft (11–21 m) · 1998[4]

  • boat
  • 6-inch communications cable (Mayagüez–Dominican Republic) crosses the bottom
  • ~30 anchors scattered, incl. large upright kedge anchor attributed to a Spanish galleon
  • other: unexploded bomb on site

Sources & verification

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

  1. 1.Monitoring of Coral Reef Communities at Isla Desecheo, Rincón, Mayagüez Bay, Guánica, Ponce and Isla Caja de Muertos, Puerto Rico, 2005 (Final Report) — García-Sais JR et al. (Reef Surveys) for DRNA/NOAA (2005-12) · Government dataset · 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.Discovering Paradise: The Ultimate Guide to Scuba Diving in Puerto Rico — SSI (Scuba Schools International) · Dive organization · Tier 3: Corroborating · accessed 2026-09-25
  4. 4.The Complete Diving Guide: The Caribbean, Volume 3 (Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands) — Colleen Ryan & Brian Savage / Complete Dive Guide Publications (1998) · Historical guide · Tier 3: Corroborating · historical
  5. 5.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
  6. 6.Puerto Rico DRNA Coral Reef Monitoring Project Report 2002 - Task 1: Monitoring of Natural Reserve Baseline Sites (M. Nemeth) — Puerto Rico DRNA Marine Resources Division (2002) · Government dataset · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25
  7. 7.Final Report Puerto Rico Coral Reef Monitoring Program: 2025 Survey (Garcia-Sais, Williams, Sabater-Clavell, Carlo) — Reef Research, Inc. for DRNA (NOAA CRCP NA23NOS4820135) (2025-09) · Scientific publication · Tier 1: Primary / authoritative · accessed 2026-09-25
  8. 8.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

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