Moalboal · Philippines · Wall · Cave & cavern · Drift · Reef
Pescador Island
An open-top cave in the northwest wall of a limestone island
Photo: Ken Suarez kensuarez · CC0
A small limestone island in the Tañon Strait about 3 km off the Moalboal coast, where a sandy slope from 5 to 10 m gives way to a hard-coral wall dropping to around 40 m. An open-top underwater cave called the Cathedral sits in the northwest. The island has been a marine park and fish sanctuary since 1990, and PADI counts 450 species of hard coral on the reef.
Where it is and how deep
9.9231° N, 123.3436° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Most recreational dive tours start at the island's south end and let the current carry the group along either the east or the west side, so the direction you take is decided on the day rather than fixed. On top of the reef a sandy slope covered with soft coral runs from about 5 to 10 m, and below it the wall takes over and drops to about 40 m, hard coral the whole way — PADI counts 450 species of it and puts the interesting depth at 7 to 20 m. The island's maximum depth is 65 m, well past anything recreational.
The Cathedral is the feature people come for: an open-top underwater cave in the island's northwest. Divers holding only a basic Open Water certification cannot safely attempt it, since a cave is not open water, though some of the dive schools in town offer the more advanced training that would cover it. Everything else on the island can be dived without going in. Currents run anywhere from slack to about 3 knots, and visibility is usually 10 to 30 m, opening up to 40 m when the Tañon Strait pushes clear water through.
The fish list runs long for a rock this size. Barracuda, tuna, pyramid butterflyfish and white-tipped reef sharks work the wall, with nudibranchs, snake eels and frogfish for anyone who slows down on the coral. A large school of sardines has made the reef its home, and whale sharks are on PADI's list of sightings for the site — occasional rather than expected.
Background
In 1990 the Sangguniang Bayan of Moalboal declared Pescador Island a marine park and fish sanctuary, and dive shops now pay a fee for each diver they bring, with the proceeds funding conservation programs in the municipality. The island's best-known residents have not been constant: the large school of sardines left after the February 2012 earthquake and returned by May 2013, and a school of more than a million fish that once called Pescador home has since moved inshore, closer to the beaches at Panagsama.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Whale sharks
- Reef sharks
- Barracuda
- Tuna
- Nudibranchs
- Frogfish
- Sardine baitballs
- Pristine corals
| 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
- Current is quoted at anywhere from 0 to 3 knots, so a slack entry is no guarantee for the rest of the dive — stay with the boat's plan and keep the wall in reach.
- The Cathedral is a cave, not open water; without the advanced training and the buoyancy to match, dive the wall past it rather than through it.
Photos from Pescador Island
Bermuda38 · CC BY-SA 4.0
pescadorescebu · CC BY-SA 4.0
pescadorescebu · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Diving Pescador Island East, Moalboal, Cebu Island, Philippines · Rems Production on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the dive at Pescador Island?+
The sandy slope on top of the reef sits at about 5 to 10 m and the wall drops to around 40 m, with PADI putting the interesting depth at 7 to 20 m. The island's maximum depth is 65 m, far below recreational limits, so the usual dive stays on the upper wall.
Do you need to be advanced certified for the Cathedral?+
The Cathedral is an open-top underwater cave and divers with only the basic Open Water certification cannot safely attempt it. The rest of the island, wall and shallow slope, can be dived without going into the cave.
What can you see at Pescador Island?+
Barracuda, tuna, pyramid butterflyfish, white-tipped reef sharks, nudibranchs, snake eels and frogfish over 450 species of hard coral, plus a large school of sardines. Whale sharks are on PADI's sightings list for the site.
Sources
- Pescador Island — Wikipedia
- Moalboal — Wikipedia
- Moalboal — Wikivoyage
- Pescador Island Dive Site — PADI Travel
Photo credits
- Aerial view of dive boats moored along Pescador Island's reef wall. by Ken Suarez kensuarez, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A diver hovers by a soft-coral wall at the entrance to the Cathedral cave. by Bermuda38, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A diver's torchlight picks out soft coral inside the Cathedral cave chamber. by pescadorescebu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Close-up of hard coral and reef fish on Pescador Island's wall. by pescadorescebu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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More dive sites in Moalboal
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A two-seat aircraft sunk on sand at 20 m, with a wall beyond
Reef
Coral slope that steepens into a wall at about 20 m
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A coral wall running from a 5 m shallow top down to 55 m
Muck & macro
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A million-plus sardines holding a short swim off the dive shops
Protected wall from 18 m to 55 m, hung with gorgonian fans
Wall
Sanctuary wall with small caves and steady turtle sightings
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The corner where Cabilao's sharks are seen, wall to plateau to wall