Hands up. Who likes to dive under a pier?

[Gary_Ward]

Who likes to dive under a pier or jetty? We've become massive fans since our local pier closed to commercial traffic and the marine life has exploded....

Often, marine life loves the protection that being under a structure provides them, which is why we often see a massive number and diversity of aquatic life under piers and jetties. The video here shows our local pier in Hillsborough, which was abandoned for commercial use 2 years ago and has become a real haven for fish, octopus and all sorts of other critters, that its become a real favourite of ours.

What are your thoughts? Are you a pier diving fan? What do you like about it or what about it turns you off?

 

[maj2]

Depends to some degree on the pier.
Some, like the Salt Pier in Bonaire are fantastic dives. Others that I have done have been trash filled wastelands.
I'll gladly dive any pier once. I reserve the right to decide if it is worthy of a second dive.

 

[TMHeimer]

Haven't really done much of that. Depends on if there are fisherman. Shells may congregate there.

 

[tr3a]

Depends to some degree on the pier.
Some, like the Salt Pier in Bonaire are fantastic dives. Others that I have done have been trash filled wastelands.
I'll gladly dive any pier once. I reserve the right to decide if it is worthy of a second dive.

In some parts of the world the trash under the pier might be a condominium for cool creatures.

 

[AdivingBel]

Salt pier, Frederiksted pier, Arborek jetty, Sauwandarek jetty, etc....nice dives. Love to dive your Hillsborough pier someday.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

In some parts of the world the trash under the pier might be a condominium for cool creatures.

The Morro Bay T-Pier in California is like that. It's in the top ten of my favorite dive sites.

 

[lowviz]

Sailboat/fishing pier in Brielle, NJ. You can find stuff along either side. Mostly sunglasses. Be nice and leave them topside.

I found an urn there too. It was (still is?) in the protected area well in front of the 'beach'. Uh, as un-enamored as I am with organized big religion, I gave it a 'sign of the cross' and put it back exactly where it was...

 

[Bigbella]

We night-dove the Municipal Pier, in my home town of Santa Cruz, CA, through the late-70s and 80s. Seasonally, they provided a public stairwell on cables, about halfway out, which led to a float, with a couple of cleats for guest mooring and, eh, changing in and out of suits. Otherwise, or through the Winter, we simply swam that brief distance, out from Cowell's Beach.

There was always quite a load of fish life; dive-bombing sea lions, near the end; cormorants; and no shortage of octopuses and even the odd squid in season. The downside was the over-abundance of discarded fishing line; but the discovery of those cheap-o EMT shears always saved the day . . .

 

[tarponchik]

I usually take my chances.

 

[evandroairton]

In the town where i have a beach house (ilhabela) there are a few piers i like.
There is a private pier who has a nice steam shipwreck at it (acessible by boat or a concrete boat ramp nearby)

Here is a vídeo i've shot there