Malapascua – Day 2: Threshers at Dawn
MALAPASCUA
Day 2: Threshers at Dawn
October 21, 2024
Ever since I had started diving, my marine-life bucket list had kept on expanding despite my best efforts. While that might be discouraging to some, it only pushed me on. In fact, I had come all the way to Malapascua to scratch one more big thing off my list.
At the break of dawn, I found myself in front of yet another dive shop. Together with Marvin, our guide for the day, I set off for another day of diving along with a few others. Being out on the open sea about to go on a dive never fails to make me feel freer than ever, alive in more ways than I could count. And this time, I knew that I’d feel way, way more alive the second we’d hit the surface.
In the Flesh
Our first dive would be at Monad Shoal, a famous underwater plateau located east of Malapascua Island, featuring sponges, hard corals and sandy patches. That said, the real draw was the big pelagic action that brings divers to Malapascua in the first place.
In fact, during this dive, I could hardly care about anything other than the big pelagic action. You see, these sites are known for their cleaning stations, where a certain type of shark visits with remarkable regularity. While I’d never been promised anything, given nature’s unpredictability, Marvin was 100% sure we’d get to see what we had come to see. And he was 1000% right. It only took a couple of minutes after descent for us to see the first of these incredible beings: a friggin’ thresher shark!
These marvellous, yet somewhat funny-looking, beings are sleek, deep-sea predators best known for their long, whip-like tails, which they use to stun schools of fish with powerful strikes. Their large eyes are a bit disproportionate compared to their small heads, giving them an almost comical look. Usually shy and elusive, they’re rarely seen by divers, except at places like Malapascua, where pelagic threshers rise from the depths to visit cleaning stations. Sadly, thresher sharks are threatened by fishing pressure and bycatch, making encounters with them both thrilling and precious.
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Having never seen one before, I was genuinely mesmerised when I saw the first one. Imagine my reaction when they started showing up one after the other. The way they swim is just so damn elegant, with their long tails trailing behind them. Such a privilege!
Our second dive was at Kimud Shoal, an underwater seamount that rises from deep water to a shallower plateau. Here, we got to see more thresher sharks – though less frequently. That said, every time we’d spot one, I’d do my best to take in every single detail of the majestic creatures, knowing that it might very well be the last time I’d ever see them.
My Private Dive
The third dive was at Thresher Shark Divers Reef, a dive site belonging to one of the island’s oldest and most reputable operators.
The reef itself is a shallow coral garden with a few artificial PVC structures, including a framework for coral to grow on, as well as other underwater sculptures, like a shark. With the rest of the divers having decided to end their day after the second dive, I was left alone with Marvin – my very own personal guide. And lemme tell ya, it was simply the best.
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Between patches of sand, coral and seagrass, we kinda saw everything. From banded sea urchins to huge anemones, shoals of squid and schools of striped catfish, snake eels, mantis shrimps and nudibranchs, it was like I was in heaven. It was also my first time seeing sea moths. Also known as pegasus fish, these are small, bizarre-looking bottom dwellers related to pipefish and seahorses. They have bony, armour-like plates, wing-like pectoral fins and a long, tube-shaped snout used to suck up tiny crustaceans and worms from the sand. They often move in pairs, “walking” along the seabed rather than swimming. Another cool fact? They shed their outer skin regularly. So, so cool.
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Mandarin Dreams
After the dive, I was meant to go on a night dive with the aim of seeing the mating dance of mandarinfish, yet another highlight that draws divers here to Malapascua.
Right as we were about to set off, we received an alert from the coast guard that no further diving or marine activities would be allowed in view of Severe Tropical Storm Trami, known locally in the Philippines as Kristine, which was affecting the country. With the locals being used to tropical storms and typhoons, they just shrugged it off. Meanwhile, I kinda freaked out, having only a couple more days at my disposal for diving here. Plus, I couldn’t quite change my plans and leave the island either, with the ferry not operating in such conditions.
Back during my gap year, I had been stuck in way worse storms and hurricanes. Well, typhoons, technically, given where I was. I knew it’d be out of my control, but I can’t say I wasn’t gutted when they told me the chances of diving over the upcoming few days would be practically nil.