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Cailly Bruno
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Immersed at a depth of 20ft/6m in front of Saint-Pierre beach, Manman Dlo is a monumental concrete mermaid created by the Martinican artist Laurent Valère. Over time, the sculpture has been colonized by corals and sponges, and is now attracting many fish. If you visit Saint-Pierre, don’t miss a short snorkeling over to the sculpture, which is surrounded by a strange and silent atmosphere.

Snorkeling Manman Dlo mermaid sculpture
The head of the mermaid, and its caudal fin in the background.

How to go snorkeling at Manman Dlo sculpture

The sculpture is immersed in the bay of Saint-Pierre, at the town’s entrance. It is located under the yellow buoy that can be seen about 60m from the beach, opposite the Fish bo Kay restaurant. A dive boat is often moored on the spot.

Manman Dlo sculpture snorkeling map

Water entrance for snorkeling Manman Dlo

Enter the water from the sandy beach, and swim to the yellow buoy (approx. 60m).

Manman Dlo sculpture snorkeling exploration tips

Manman Dlo is a monumental concrete sculpture weighing over 20 tons. It depicts Manman Dlo, a Creole version of a mermaid, a legendary creature who is said to capsize the ships passing overhead.

Sponges and grunt over Manman Dlo sculpture
In places, the sculpture is covered with sponges. It attracts many fish, such as this school of French grunt.

The sculpture is immersed about 6m deep and is surrounded by seagrass beds. It is made up of a head and a caudal fin placed a few meters apart, giving the impression that the creature is partly silted up.

Immersed since 2004, the sculpture has begun to be covered with small sponges, corals and Sabella. As an artificial reef, the sculpture attracts many fish, such as sergeant majors, dusky squirrelfish and French grunts. On the surrounding seagrass beds, sea turtle or stingrays are occasionally spotted.

Freediving Manman Dlo
The sculptures offers a special atmosphere to snorkelers and freedivers.

Even if you don’t skindive, the sculpture is worth a look from the surface.

Restaurants and accommodation nearby

Fish bo Kay restaurant is just opposite the spot. There is a large choice of restaurants and accommodation in and around Saint-Pierre (the spot is about 500m walk along the beach from the town center).

 

  • Level required Intermediate
  • Maximum depth20ft/7m
  • Water entranceFrom a black-sand beach
  • LifeguardNo
  • Visitor numbersLow
  • Access costsFree
  • Restaurants nearbyYes

MAP Spot

These spots are accessible to anyone with basic snorkeling skills, and feeling comfortable in the water and with his snorkeling gear. You will enter the water from the shore (beach, pontoon, ladder, rocks) or from a boat. The water height in the sea entrance area is reasonable, but you will not necessarily be within your depth. Moderate currents can occur in the area, even when the sea conditions are good. The distance to swim to reach the most interesting snorkeling areas of the spot does not exceed 200 meters.

This level only apply when the spot experiences optimal sea and/or weather conditions. It is not applicable if the sea and/or weather conditions deteriorate, in particular in the presence of rough sea, rain, strong wind, unusual current, large tides, waves and/or swell. You can find more details about the definition of our snorkeling levels on our snorkeling safety page.