Moalboal · Philippines · Reef · Wall
Panagsama House Reef (Sardine Run)
A million-plus sardines holding a short swim off the dive shops
Photo: Iampjanz · CC BY-SA 4.0
The house reef in front of Panagsama Beach is a walk-in dive: swim 20 to 30 m out and the reef drops away, as deep as 70 m in places. The draw is the school of more than a million sardines that shifted inshore from Pescador Island and now congregates right at that drop-off, shallow enough that PADI puts the maximum on the sardine stretch of this reef at 18 m.
Also known as Panagsama Beach, Moalboal Sardine Run.
Where it is and how deep
9.9495° N, 123.3658° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Entry is off the shoreline itself. The dive shops sit on the water, so you walk in and fin out over the shallows rather than schedule a boat. Twenty to thirty metres from the beach the reef edge arrives and the bottom falls away; the drop-off runs as deep as 70 m in places, while the sardines themselves hold shallow, with PADI recording a maximum of 18 m on the sardine stretch of this reef. Pick a depth on the face and hold it while you work along the shore.
The sardines are the reason to be here. A school of more than a million fish that once called Pescador Island home has moved in close to shore, and it stacks into a cloud that keeps changing shape as you swim under and through it, tightening, splitting and closing again overhead. Predators including jacks and tuna sometimes push in to feed on it, and turtles turn up on the reef alongside them. You finish by finning back across the shallows to the beach you walked in from.
Marine life and season
- Sardine baitballs
- Trevally & jacks
- Tuna
- Sea turtles
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Moalboal: Diveable year-round; the sardine school is present nearly every day regardless of season.
Know before you go
- The reef edge drops away as deep as 70 m with nothing underneath to stop a descent — agree a depth limit before you get in and watch your gauge while you follow the school.
Photos from Panagsama House Reef (Sardine Run)
Iampjanz · CC BY-SA 4.0
Iampjanz · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Scuba Diving The Philippines - The Sardine Run - Panagsama Beach #moalboal #panagsamabeach · Scuba Diving and Dogs on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Panagsama house reef?+
The sardines hold shallow: PADI records a maximum depth of 18 m for the sardine stretch of this house reef. The reef edge beside them is another matter, dropping away sharply and reaching as deep as 70 m in places, so agree a limit before you get in.
Can you dive the sardine run from shore?+
Yes. Shore diving is straightforward here, with most dive operators working out of shops that abut the shoreline, so reaching the reef edge is a 20 to 30 m swim rather than a boat trip.
Sources
- Moalboal — Wikivoyage
- Moalboal — Wikipedia
- Amigos house reef (sardines) dive site — PADI Travel
- Moalboal Backpacker Lodge (OSM) — OpenStreetMap
Photo credits
- A green sea turtle swims low over the coral reef at Panagsama Beach. by Iampjanz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A sea turtle grazing on coral rubble on the reef flat at Panagsama Beach. by Iampjanz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A turtle glides over open reef through a haze of small reef fish. by Iampjanz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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