TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Cistern Point Status

Hi Friends-
We've always been big fans of Cistern Point at Cooper Island as a solid snorkel spot. However, on our last trip down (Jun/July 2021), we were saddened to see that the coral at the point had seemed to really take a beating, with a resulting diminished sea-life population- I guess from an assortment of storms. Anybody been lately who can comment on the status of the coral at Cistern Point these days?
Thanks!
-pk

We were there a few days ago and frequently over the past years and I wouldn't say that there has been a dramatic change. The best area has always been the ridge extending into deep water just past Cistern rock, but swimming there requires pretty calm conditions.

Around the rock it has always been a mixture of boulders and coral, and some soft coral on the seabed.

A nice spot, but I personally wouldn't rank it in the top five.

We were there twice this past summer. Both times we found it to be similar to summer of 2021 and summer of 2018. I agree with MrEZgoin......the best area is the ridge extending into the deep. We saw a nurse shark, several stingrays, and an abundance of fish on our last trip. Unfortunately, we also saw two lionfish which we immediately reported using the instructions on our charter boat. I can only assume the lionfish are having a negative impact on the native species, but it was not apparent in July.

We thought the same thing when we were there last year. Far better spots out there. We are going to try some stops off Ginger next month.