Philippines Scuba

Dive Instructor Thierry left Mexico last year and went off on an extensive journey to explore the Philippines. Here is a photo essay of his trip.

The Philippines is an archipelago consisting of 7,107 islands. They separate the Celebes Sea and the South China Sea from the Pacific OceanThe archipelago is the second-largest in the world after Indonesia.

The warm, clear waters of the Philippines are known to contain some of the most diverse and beautiful marine life to be found anywhere in the world. Its waters are home to more than 3000 species of fish and 448 species of coral (compared to 700 species of fish and 100 species of coral in the entire Caribbean). But there have also been a lot of mixed reports on the destructive aftermath of dynamite fishing. Many visitors return from the Phillippines dissapointed divers because they didn't encounter the abundant marine life and healthy reefs others talk so enthusiastically about. Although some of the world's most extensive coral reefs are found in the Philippines, they are under such sustained assault by dynamite fishing that marine biologists say the corals are on the verge of utter collapse.

"There are many horrific things going on in the world's oceans, but this tops the list," said John McCosker, the chairman of aquatic biology at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. "When divers talked about the world's finest coral reefs 20 years ago, the consensus for the top spot was always the Philippines, but nobody feels that way now." Read more here...

A member of the Dive Global team snorkeled off Boracay island 20 years ago and remembered the reefs looking quite healthy back then. We were curious to find out from Thierry what his general impression was and if it still is a country worthwhile going to for scuba divers. Thierry visited quite a few islands during his stay and traveled by air, bus, ferry, banca (the traditional outrigger boat) and the famous Jeepny to get to the different places on his itinerary. A jeepny, for those of you that don’t know, is a US military vehicle left there in the Second World War. The jeeps have taken on a life of their own. Over the years, the Philippines have decorated these vehicles to their hearts content. You find them everywhere as a local means of transportation and they are considered a national symbol of the country.

Generally speaking, dive sites in the Philippines are known to include walls and drop-offs, coral gardens, drift dives and many rare and truly unique creatures including huge numbers of riggerfish, parrotfish, pennant fish, moray eels, surgeonfish, snappers, groupers, moorish idol, lizardfish, gobies, batfish, lionfish, trumpetfish, pufferfish, filefish, emperors, wrasses, fusiliers and trevallies. Invertebrates from the tiniest transparent shrimp and neon-colored nudibranchs to huge basket sponges adorned with hundreds of multi-colored crinoids can be found.

Anemones, sea cucumbers, starfish and worms reside with vast numbers of hard and soft corals and gorgonian sea fans. Turtles, octopus, cuttlefish, manta rays, eagle rays and sharks make guest appearances in certain areas.Palawan, which is south of Luzon, is considered the best (commercialized) diving destination in the Philippines. Shipwrecks abound in Coron, while excellent coral formations can be found in El Nido. Apo Island and the Tubbataha Reefs, to name a few, are still considered coral paradises.However, if you prefer to stay near Manila, you can go on a day trip to either Batangas (Anilao or Nasugbu) or Mindoro (Puerto Galera). Boracay is also very popular and easy to reach by a direct flight from Manila. It offers some amazing drift dives on walls and the beaches as positively stunning!

The island has become more commercialized over the years however and isn't as idyllic as it used to be.Thierry had an amazing time and even though he experienced some great dives in other locations, the highlight of his trip definitely was a visit to Malapascua Island which is known for a dive location where regular encounters with thresher sharks are pretty much guaranteed. Malapascua Island is in the Visayan Sea and belongs to Cebu. Cebu is easy to reach but this area has not yet been over-commercialized in diving terms and is considered one of the better exciting and off-the-beaten track diving destinations in the Philippines.

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