Diving in Pescador Island

Located in Municipality of Moalboal in the South of Cebu about 2 hours drive from Cebu City.  Pescador Island takes about 25 minutes by speedboat or by motorized banca from Panagsama beach where most dive operators and dive resorts are located.  The best time to go diving in Pescador Island is during early morning as during the afternoon the wind can be tricky and the sea can be very choppy.  The island is located in the open water and currents can be strong at times.

resident frogfish

I been to Pescador island about 5 times this year already and still counting.  Usually visibility is very good.  I usually go with Ocean Safari Divers, the dive masters there are fun to dive with and they are reasonably priced.  Pescador Island is one of my favorite dive sites in Philippines.  Although, traces of dead corals are obvious, it was when the El nino hit the Philippines about 20 years ago a lot of corals died but Pescador Island is still worth diving.  The island is a large pinnacle rising from the bottom of the sea.  There are no inhabitants on the island as it is not habitable due to the lack of fresh water.

weird looking nudibrach

Pescador island is famous for “Cathedral” its an open top fuel that bottoms out at 34 meters, the funnel is open also on its outer side at 15 meters.  Shafts of sunlight shine into the funnel around noon.  Pescador walls have very rich marine life.  I love the resident frogfishes that are usually in the same spot everytime I dive as if waiting for me there.  There is also the shoal of sardines, so thick that I’m always tempted to swim thru them.  If you get lucky, you may encounter green turtles, hammerheads, manta rays, grey reef sharks and even whale sharks.   Pescador island is a great dive site.  I would dive there everyday if it’s close to where I live.  

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Stop! Dynamite Fishing

Since I was young I've heard about dynamite fishing being practiced in our small island - Mactan.  I never really saw this happening however I've heard from my parents and others.  My mom used to tell me that the fishes sold in the market were caught using dynamite fishing.  I never really know what this means before but since I started diving many years ago, I realized how this method has damaged our reefs.

Dynamite fishing or blast fishing is a destructive way of catching fishes.  The fishermen uses a bottle full of kerosine or gasoline and insert a cloth which serves as a wick and then they light it and throw it in the sea and then it explodes underwater.  Unfortunately the blast kills everything in its way including the corals.  There are some fishermen that aren't lucky and blast their hands in the process.  I know a few.  The fishermen also does not realize that this method leaves them very little fishes for human consumption and most dead fishes are turned into pieces and are left underwater for other species to feed on and yet, kills the natural habitat of fishes to breed.  This is very sad.  Although the government is trying their best to stop this way of fishing, but it is very hard to crack the system.

I thought it has been stopped since the construction of many international resorts on the island has somehow prevented local fishermen to do this around the reefs, however just recently while I was diving I heard blast underwater.  It did sound very near us but we never saw it.  Sound travel fast underwater, it may be very far from us however it sounded so near.  The dive master confirmed that it was dynamite fishing.  I thought to myself, no wonder there are no great reefs around the area and fishes has declined in numbers.  I wish the government will do something to rid this practice, so we have a sustainable environment and nice reefs for us divers to enjoy.