12lb Reef

Meet the site

12lb Reef is one of the two Lonsdale Bight sites named for crayfish, and the story is in the name: a twelve-pound southern rock lobster – around 5.5 kg, an enormous animal – was taken from a cave in this wall in the days before the marine national park closed the reef to fishing. The Scuba Doctor listing gives a depth range of 8–20 m, an Open Water rating and the standard slack-water restriction, and describes the site simply: 'the many overhangs and plentiful soft corals make this a popular and picturesque dive', with large crays still to be seen in the overhangs.

The wall is the eastern edge of the Lonsdale Wall system where it fades into the sponge reefs of the bight – a drop of 8–12 m from a reef flat at 8 m to sand and rubble at 18–20 m, cut into overhangs and small caves along its length. The overhangs are hung with soft corals, yellow zoanthids and sponges, and the caves hold the crayfish, blue devils and bullseyes that the shelter attracts; over the top, old wives, magpie perch, leatherjackets and wrasse work the kelp and sponge garden. The Grotto, a cave site, is 36 m away and Boarfish Reef, with its anchor and 400 m sponge garden, is 66 m the other way, so a single slack can take in all three.

Because it sits within Open Water limits and is inside the Heads, 12lb Reef is one of the sites the Queenscliff charters use for less experienced divers on a day when the walls are running or the outer reef is rough, and for photographers who want soft-coral overhangs without depth. It is dived on both slacks. 16lb Reef, its namesake on the western side of the system near Foggy Reef, is a separate site.

What you might see

Southern rock lobster (large), soft corals, yellow zoanthids, sponges, southern blue devil, bullseyes, old wife, magpie perch, leatherjackets, bluethroat wrasse, nudibranchs

Location

Small wall on the eastern edge of the Lonsdale Wall system in Lonsdale Bight, 66 m east-north-east of Boarfish Reef and 36 m north-west of The Grotto.