Meet the site
Cod Grounds is a Commonwealth marine park about 30 km south of Port Macquarie, sitting a few kilometres off Perpendicular Point at the mouth of Camden Haven, and it exists specifically to protect a small but critical piece of habitat for the east coast population of critically endangered grey nurse sharks. The seafloor here is not a single obvious feature but a scatter of rocky pinnacles rising off a sand and rubble bottom, ranging from about 18 metres on the shallowest peak down through sandy gutters, ledges and small caves to 46 metres at the deepest points within the four-square-kilometre park boundary. Those pinnacles and their surrounding structure support the crabs, lobsters, squid and reef fish that in turn sustain the sharks, and grey nurse sharks are recorded here year-round, with numbers building through the cooler months as they do at the better-known aggregation sites further north and south. Because there is no boat ramp or town directly adjacent, Cod Grounds has historically been dived less than Fish Rock or Broughton Island, but Commonwealth marine park status and a full anchoring and mooring prohibition — introduced partly to protect underwater acoustic monitoring equipment tracking tagged sharks — have raised its profile and formalised how it must be dived. Divers descend on a shot line placed precisely by an operator who knows the pinnacle positions, since nothing is visible from the surface, and the site rewards divers prepared to work a genuine multi-level profile across the pinnacle tops and the deeper gutters around their base rather than expecting a single fixed route. Beyond the sharks, jewfish and kingfish schools move through the structure, and the deeper margins hold typical mid-north-coast temperate reef life. Humpback whales and foraging seabirds use the surrounding water during migration. This is an advanced site by virtue of its depth range, offshore position and lack of any shallow refuge, and it is best dived with an operator experienced in placing divers accurately on the pinnacles.
What you might see
Grey nurse sharks (year-round, peak winter), jewfish, kingfish schools, reef fish, lobsters, squid, humpback whales (migration), seabirds
Location
A Commonwealth marine park roughly 30 km south of Port Macquarie off Perpendicular Point, Camden Haven, protecting a cluster of pinnacles and sandy gutters that is critical habitat for grey nurse sharks; depths 21-46 m.
Before you make plans
Conditions, access and operator schedules can change. This is a location guide, not a dive plan. Ask a local operator about current conditions and suitability for your training and experience.
Sources & further reading
australianmarineparks.gov.auen.wikipedia.orgmudgeediveandtravel.comRecord updated 27 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.