Dauin · Philippines · Muck & macro · Sand slope · Night
Masaplod Muck
Mandarinfish spawning over black sand in the last light
Photo: Dan Schofield · CC BY 4.0
Masaplod is a black sand slope inside one of Dauin's marine sanctuaries, dived to a maximum of about 15 metres and timed for the end of the day. It is the area's mandarinfish site: pairs spiral up out of the rubble at sunset to spawn, and the same sand holds a daytime meadow of spotted garden eels, ribbon and snake eels, and the occasional pegasus seamoth.
Also known as Masaplod Norte, Masaplod North.
Where it is and how deep
9.1817° N, 123.2563° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
This is a dusk dive, and the timing matters more than the route. You enter over black sand and drop onto a slope that bottoms out at about 15 metres, then settle near the rubble patches while there is still light. Guides work slowly here rather than covering ground, because the animals are small, well camouflaged and mostly stationary.
As the light goes, the mandarinfish begin their courtship, males and females spiralling up from the rubble to release eggs before dropping back into cover. Earlier in the day the open sand is a waving meadow of spotted garden eels that stay out if you approach slowly, and ribbon eels and snake eels share the same ground, with the occasional pegasus seamoth alongside them.
Stay on into full darkness and the slope changes over: polychaete worms come out of the sand, parrotfish sit asleep in the open, and lionfish hunt in the torch beams. Masaplod is one of the two protected sanctuaries on this coast alongside Dauin's own, both recorded as well preserved and holding a large variety and quantity of life.
Marine life and season
- Mandarinfish
- 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
- The dive runs from dusk into darkness, so carry a primary and a backup torch and agree light signals with your buddy before you get in.
- Everything worth seeing sits on or in the sand; poor buoyancy silts the slope out for the whole group and buries the animals you came for.
Photos from Masaplod Muck
Dan Schofield · CC BY 4.0
Dan Schofield · CC BY 4.0
Elias Levy · CC BY 2.0
Dive videos
Dauin Dive Sites: Masaplod North · Pacificklaus on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Masaplod?+
The slope runs to a maximum of about 15 metres, so most of the dive is shallower than that and no-decompression time is rarely the limiting factor.
When is the best time to dive Masaplod?+
At dusk. The site is dived at the end of the day for the mandarinfish courtship, which happens at sunset, and many groups stay on into full darkness for the night-active animals.
What will I see at Masaplod?+
Mandarinfish spawning over the rubble at sunset, ribbon eels and snake eels, the occasional pegasus seamoth, and by day a meadow of spotted garden eels. On night dives, polychaete worms, sleeping parrotfish and hunting lionfish.
Sources
- Dauin — Wikipedia
- Diving Dumaguete & Dauin, Philippines — Dive The World
- Masaplod Norte, Dauin, Negros Oriental — OpenStreetMap
Photo credits
- A peacock mantis shrimp raises its raptorial claws inside a burrow on the sandy seafloor. by Dan Schofield, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A hairy orange giant frogfish sits motionless against silty muck-site rubble. by Dan Schofield, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A leopard sea cucumber with dark ocellated spots lies on the sandy bottom. by Dan Schofield, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A sand-dusted stargazer snake eel lies half buried on the muck site's sandy slope, only its head exposed. by Elias Levy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Where to dive in every month of the yearTrip planning · 14 min read
- When does coral spawn? The moon's calendarBig animals · 10 min read
- Night diving: the best night dives in the worldNight diving · 12 min read
- The best muck diving in the worldMacro & muck · 6 min read
- The best shore dives in the worldShore diving · 8 min read
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