TUBBATAHA - DIVING DOCUMENTARY - AQUARIUS DIVING CENTRE

I have been diving with a group of divers from Toronto, Canada and Aquarius Diving Center organized the trip. We have been staying liveaboard at the Atlantis Azores with a friendly crew. I must compliment all crew members for doing a fantastic job, above and under the water.
We all had a fantastic time aboard this very comfortable boat.
Tubbataha Reefs is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in the Sulu Sea east of Palawan. The region's remote location, along with challenging access, makes it one of the healthiest and least exploited areas of reef in the World. Throughout the 100,000 hectares of the spectacular reef system, divers lucky enough to visit will discover a wide array of pristine coral gardens mixed with steep walls dropping down into the deep blue.
Tubbataha park area is an important fish spawning and breeding site and is significant in terms of global marine life species diversity and richness.
I have been diving in many hot spots in the World, like the Red Sea, Raja Ampat and Cocos Island, and I have to admit, Tubbataha is worth visiting!
Tubbataha is a different experience. The magnitude of marine life is worth exploring! This is one of the last frontiers, where one can enjoy nature events the way they were enfolding thousands of years ago! Unspoiled and untouchable!
Coming to the Tubbataha requires commitment, but the reward is out of this World.
Tubbataha is accessible for divers only a few months a year. Usually from March until the end of June, because this is an open ocean with no protection and only during those months is safe to venture here. Tubbataha is arguably the most bio-diverse scuba diving destination in the Philippines. Tubbataha Park often ranks as the number one diving destination among the Best Diving places in the Philippines.
Tubbataha Reefs is divided into three main areas, North Atoll, South Atoll, and Jessy Beazley Reef. Each atoll offers numerous scuba dive sites, so the best and only way to explore is via liveaboard.
At deeper spots on the northern side of North Atoll, numerous shark species can be seen; white tips, black tips, and grey reef sharks are all regular spots, silky and guitar sharks and even the odd whale shark!
The southern side of North Atoll is a hotspot for large pelagics such as giant trevally, tuna and barracuda, alongside manta rays and turtles. South Atoll is an excellent hammerhead site, while wrecks on both atolls are fantastic for macro species such as pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs, and tiny crustaceans.
The north-western Jessie Beazley Reef is another good hammerhead shark location, as well as for other shark species. The fast currents support tremendous branching hard corals and all the associated marine life.
The most popular and well know diving sides are: shark airport, Malayan Wreck, Sea fan alley, Amos Rock and, of course, the famous washing machine.
Shark Airport, for great shark diving, we head to Shark Airport, where we can find them swimming around or resting along the reef. Due to strong currents, this dive site is better suited for advanced divers.
A Malayan Wreck is a perfect place for macro photography. We could get great shots of some Nudibranchs, crabs, and shrimps.
Seafan Alley, This is the place to see colourful coral reefs. Seafan Alley is located in the North Atoll. One can see huge gorgonian sea fans where it is possible to spot pygmy seahorses!
Amos Rock or Southwest Rock is a popular dive site on the North Atoll of Tubbataha featuring various types of beautiful corals, massive gorgonian fans, large fish, such as snappers and mackerels and groupers, and the fascinating Napoleon wrasses.
Washing Machine. This is usually the best place to see manta rays and sharks. The Washing Machine in the North Atoll is famous for strong currents, attracting all the big stuff.
The reefs were substantially damaged by typhoon Rai, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Odette. A powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone struck the Philippines in December 2021.
A modest ranger station is perched on the southernmost tip of Tubbataha North Atoll. Home to a team of 10 to 12 men from the Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard, Municipality of Cagayancillo and the TMO. There is also a mama ranger; she is the boss, and everybody respects and reports to her.
During regular times the team is stationed for two months at a time; in covid times, the duration of one stay has been extended up to six months. Hard to imagine such solitude, 130 kilometres from the nearest inhabited islands.
Droning at Tuba-ta-ha requires a permit. It is not very difficult to obtain and is free, but it is necessary to have one if somebody is trying to use the drone in that area. Each permit is issued by a "mama ranger" and is strictly reinforced by each live-a-board captain.
The Bird Islet in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is home to 100 species of birds and serves as a breeding ground for six seabird species.