Mervs Reef

Reef Dive | Shore access

Merv's Reef Construction
Source: VRFish

Depth: 10 m (33 ft)

Merv's Reef (aka St Helens Shellfish Reef) is an artificial, man-made rocky fishing reef located at St Helens in Corio Bay. It's named after the late Merv McGuire, former head of Future Fish and VRFish.

Merv's Reef consists of five rocky reefs running roughly north-south with the published GPS mark being the centre one. We suggest making your way from shore out to the centre reef, then head north and check out the two reefs up that way, then come south past all five, now head north again to the centre reef, and back to the shore.

When diving Merv's Reef it's important to use a dive float with dive flag to let boat traffic and shore fishers know where you are. You should also carry a dive knife and/or line cutter.

See WillyWeather (Corio Bay) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Do Not Anchor: Please do not anchor on the shellfish reefs, as this destroys the growing reef structure.
All recreational fishers and dive boat owners are asked to please do not anchor on or nearby the shellfish reefs, rather drift fish over the reefs.

Do Not Take Shellfish: Please do not take shellfish from the shellfish reefs, as this destroys the growing reef structure. All recreational fishers and divers are asked to please do not take shellfish on or nearby the shellfish reefs. Look, but don't touch.

Merv's Reef Dive Site Map | © The Scuba Doctor

Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) Recreational Fishing Reefs in Corio Bay

Corio Bay Rocky Reef
Source: Victorian Fisheries Authority

In and around Corio Bay, three artificial man-made rocky reefs at St Helens, Outer Harbour and Kirk Point have been fully seeded with 10 tonnes of blue mussels and 400,000 native flat oysters. The reefs are:

Moolap Reef (aka Outer Harbour Shellfish Reef) — The Outer Harbour reef is Moolap Reef, the Indigenous name of Point Henry. Moolap recognises the cultural significance of the sea country to the Wadawurrung people and means a place of men fishing with spears.
Merv's Reef (aka St Helens Shellfish Reef) — The reef at St Helens is Merv's Reef, named after the late Merv McGuire, former head of Future Fish and VRFish. It's 62 metres from the break wall.
Wilson's Reef (aka Kirk Point Shellfish Reef) — At Kirk Point is Wilson's Reef, honouring Geelong fishing writer and identity Geoff Wilson.

VFA Recreational Fishing Reefs - Corio Bay | Source: Victorian Fisheries Authority

Corio Bay Map | Source: Parks Victoria

Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes the coastline of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-east, the Bellarine Peninsula, and down to Cape Otway in the south-west. We wish to acknowledge the Wathaurong as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Bunjil the Creator Spirit of this beautiful land, who travels as an eagle, and Waarn, who protects the waterways and travels as a crow, and thank them for continuing to watch over this Country today and beyond.

Mervs Reef Location Map

Latitude: 38° 7.228′ S (38.120467° S / 38° 7′ 13.68″ S)
Longitude: 144° 21.658′ E (144.360967° E / 144° 21′ 39.48″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2021-02-10 18:36:50 GMT, Last updated: 2022-03-22 14:25:12 GMT
Source: Victorian Fisheries Authority
Nearest Neighbour: St Helens Shellfish Reef, 98 m, bearing 14°, NNE
Artificial shellfish reef installed to improve recreational fishing.
Geelong, Corio Bay.
Depth: 10 m.

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DISCLAIMER: No claim is made by The Scuba Doctor as to the accuracy of the dive site coordinates listed here. Should anyone decide to use these GPS marks to locate and dive on a site, they do so entirely at their own risk. Always verify against other sources.

The marks come from numerous sources including commercial operators, independent dive clubs, reference works, and active divers. Some are known to be accurate, while others may not be. Some GPS marks may even have come from maps using the AGD66 datum, and thus may need be converted to the WGS84 datum. To distinguish between the possible accuracy of the dive site marks, we've tried to give each mark a source of GPS, Google Earth, or unknown.