Trennents Rock

Meet the site

Trennents Rock is a reef a few hundred metres south of the Tollgate Islands. The Marine Life Network lists it at 7–25 m and highlights huge numbers of pelagic and reef fish, weedy sea dragons and kelp beds. Beyond that brief summary it is not well documented, but it shares the character of the Tollgate Islands reefs, with the added exposure of sitting a little further out into the bay.

The shallower parts of the reef are covered in kelp, which is where the weedy sea dragons live. They are best found by moving slowly and scanning just above the kelp canopy. Deeper, the reef breaks into boulders and ledges with sponges and sea squirts, and the reef edge attracts schools of yellowtail, sweep and bream, with kingfish, bonito and trevally passing through, particularly in summer. Blue groper, red morwong, wobbegongs and eastern blue devilfish are the usual reef residents, and grey nurse sharks from the nearby Dragon Rock colony may pass.

The site suits Open Water divers who stay on the shallow kelp and Advanced divers who want to explore the deeper edge. It is a good alternative to the island sites when they are busy or when divers want pelagic action. Coordinates here are approximate, estimated from the 'few hundred metres south of the Tollgate Islands' description. Check with a local operator for the exact mark, and treat the depth range as indicative. It is unclear whether the reef is inside the Tollgate Islands sanctuary zone, so check the zoning map before fishing.

What you might see

Weedy sea dragons, yellowtail, sweep, bream, kingfish, bonito, trevally, blue groper, red morwong, wobbegongs, eastern blue devilfish, kelp, sponges

Location

Reef a few hundred metres south of the Tollgate Islands, Batemans Bay, with huge numbers of reef and pelagic fish, weedy sea dragons and kelp beds; 7–25 m.

Facilities nearby

Hanging Rock boat ramp; air and nitrox at Beneath the Bay.