Dauin · Philippines · Artificial reef · Muck & macro · Night
Ducomi Pier
Mimic, wonderpus and blue-ringed octopus under the pillars
Area photo: Austin Rex Lobaton · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ducomi is a working pier north of Dauin with a silty bottom no deeper than 12 metres, dived for what lives on and under its concrete pillars. Scubago calls it probably the most popular macro site on Negros, known for the rare species beneath the port, and Dive The World rates it as a night dive above all.
Also known as The Pier.
Where it is and how deep
9.2207° N, 123.2892° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The dive is shallow, 12 metres at most, and entirely about structure. You work the base of the concrete pillars, which Scubago describes as home to the rarest of critters as well as coral formations, and where mimic, wonderpus and blue-ringed octopus hide in the discarded crannies around the footings. Nudibranchs and flatworms crawl across the algae-covered wood above them.
Dive The World recommends doing it at night, and the shallow, fixed structure suits that: you can search the same pillars slowly by torch without covering any ground. The pier also draws schools of batfish and jacks, which is unusual on a coast dived almost entirely for small animals. The bottom is silt, so fin technique decides how much you and the divers behind you actually see.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Nudibranchs
- Trevally & jacks
- Reef fish swarms
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Dauin: Diveable year-round on the sheltered coast; December–February trade winds can raise chop on the shallow sand slopes.
Know before you go
- Local children jump off the pier above the dive; listen for splashes and stay aware of what is happening on the surface before you ascend.
- This is a working pier over a silty bottom - stay clear of boat traffic on the surface and ascend along a pillar rather than into open water.
Dive videos
I Dive DUCOMI PIER in Bacong, Philippines · Critter Hunter on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Is Ducomi Pier a night dive?+
Dive The World says it is best done as a night dive, and the site is shallow enough at 12 metres for a long, slow search by torch. It works in daylight too, but the octopus and the critters under the pillars are what people come for.
Sources
- Ducomi — Scubago (SSI MyDiveGuide)
- Dauin Diving, Dumaguete - Philippines — Dive The World
In The Logbook
- Night diving: the best night dives in the worldNight diving · 12 min read
- The best muck diving in the worldMacro & muck · 6 min read
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