Cebu sits at the crossroads of the Visayas and hums with energy—both cultural and marine. Offshore, reefs attract turtles, reef sharks, and schooling fish, while channels bring in whale sharks and other pelagics. Ocean activity here is incredible, but it comes with a cost: heavy tourism, especially in hotspots, puts pressure on local ecosystems. Balancing the boom with sustainability is Cebu's biggest challenge.
Moalboal’s sardine run is, for now, always on. Just offshore, millions of sardines swirl in dense, shifting walls that shimmer like liquid silver, forming one of the largest resident bait balls in the world. Predators patrol constantly—jacks, tuna, thresher sharks, and the occasional dolphin dart through the chaos. It’s a rare chance to drop into an ever-present spectacle of raw abundance.
North of Cebu, Malapascua is legendary for its year round, resident thresher sharks. Divers can see them at cleaning stations almost daily, their long tails cutting through the blue. But it’s not just threshers that make this place off the charts. It’s also nearby Gato Island, which boasts spectacular soft coral gardens, caves, and swarms of reef fish that move through ripping currents. Conservation efforts here are also battling outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish, working to protect these extraordinary reefs.
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