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Welcome to the beautiful Mediterranean Islands of MALTA with breathtaking coastlines and clear calm waters. Here you can explore the colour, vision and life of the undersea world and let your senses absorb memories that will last a lifetime.

Scuba Diving in Malta is considered the best diving in the Mediterranean. The Maltese islands are blessed with warm temperatures, even in winter, clear, unpolluted seas, with visibility underwater in excess of thirty metres. Hundreds of kilometres of coastline, many of which are still unexplored, make the Maltese archipelago a favourite with adventurous divers.

Ras Ir-Raheb

Location: The Rdum Majjiesa to Ras ir-Raheb (Marine Protected Area) is situated on the northwest coast of the island of Malta and has a total area of 9520 m2 and a coastline length of around 11km. This area is characterized by a number of bays and inlets with semicircular coves and Blue Clay slopes that are all typical features of the North-western part of the Island of Malta. Sea cliffs are also present, especially in the southern part of the Marine Protected Areas.

Seabed: The seabed morphology is characterized by varied seascapes and bottom types. Two rocky shoals also occur, one adjacent to Ras il-Wahx and another at Ras il-Pellegrin. Other features include gentle slopes and steep drop-offs, as well as semi-submerged caves towards the southern part of the area.

This area was selected as a Marine Protected Area because it supports a representative selection of all major biotopes occurring around the Maltese Islands, including:

Posidonia and Cymodocea (sea grass) meadows
Hard substrata with ‘forests’ of algae of many different types
Fine sands of different grades
Coarse sands
Accumulations of stones and pebbles

Various meadow types of Neptune Grass (Posidonia oceanica) occur in the area, all supporting rich assemblages of species including many of conservation and economic importance. The Lesser Neptune Grass (Cymodocea nodosa) forms meadows on bottoms of fine sands. The alien alga Caulerpa racemosa is found in dense patches around the deeper waters off Ras il-Pellegrin.

Photophilic (‘light loving’) algae dominate hard substrata throughout the area, the most common dominants being various species of Cystoseira. As depth increases, photophilic algae are replaced with sciaphilic (‘shade loving’) algal associations especially those dominated by coralline algae and other red algae, together with low growing hydroids and a variety of sponges and bryozoans. Such assemblages are very common on the submarine cliff faces and at the entrance of sea caves.

Extensive areas of bare sand, which are devoid of macroscopic plant life, are also found in the area, particularly within coves and on the periphery of sea grass meadows. These areas however, support a rich epifauna, especially of echinoderms, as well as a large variety of species that burrow in the sand to seek food and refuge (infauna).