Dive with
Best places to dive with Ranong Guitarfish
Rhinobatos ranongensis
A range-restricted guitarfish known only from the Bay of Bengal, and one of very few reasons to dive Mergui rather than the Thai Andaman. Divers have found them resting in groups of 5–20 on sand at 25–30m at Black Rock and North Twin, and nowhere else in the area where diving is regular. It is caught as gillnet bycatch nearby — a pregnant female was documented taken at 60m near Black Rock in February 2023.
Destinations ranked by how reliably ranong guitarfish is seen. The bars show the likelihood by month — never a guarantee. See the full species page for more.
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | occasional |
| February | rare |
| March | rare |
| April | rare |
| May | rare |
| June | rare |
| July | rare |
| August | rare |
| September | rare |
| October | rare |
| November | rare |
| December | occasional |
Sightings appear tied to the positive phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole rather than to a fixed season. Documented dive observations are from December 2019, January 2020, March 2020, February 2023 and December 2023. In an IOD-neutral or negative year, expect nothing. Deep — the aggregations sit at 25–30m at the base of the slope.