Scuba Season
Underwater reef at Moalboal
Stable

Moalboal

Philippines · Cebu

Moalboal on Cebu's southwest coast is built around two things: the sardine run that lives year round at Panagsama Beach, and the wall diving at Pescador Island just offshore. Easy shore entries, big macro on the house reef, and a relaxed backpacker town.

How this reef is doing

ⓘ How we measure this

Reef state

Stable

Resident sardine bait ball and the Pescador wall are unchanged. House reef cover has thinned but the macro and pelagic encounters drive trips here.

Coral cover

22%
LowHealthy
Moderate

Fish life

Not surveyed

Heat

SafeBleaching

Warmer than usual right now, but not hot enough to bleach.

Warming

Fishing

QuietBusy

Some fishing is allowed here, in marked zones.

Limited

Sources · MERMAID and the survey teams · NOAA Coral Reef Watch · Global Fishing Watch and reef gravity

Coral cover over time

Live coral cover, by survey year

Across surveys in 2023 and 2024, live coral cover here has risen from 3% to 22%. Every point is a real survey reading, never a projection.

Live coral cover, percent by year

40%0%region avg 37%20232024
Two surveys
East Asian Seas average (GCRMN)
MERMAID and the survey teams, within 56 km

What you will see

13 species across the dive sites here

Dive sites

What divers say

Walking into the ocean from the beach and being inside a million sardines within five minutes never stops feeling absurd.
— Repeat visitor

Good to know

Marine sanctuary fee

~PHP 100/day at Pescador, collected by your op.

Gear & getting wet

  • Basic kit

    • Mask and fins
    • BCD and regulator
    • 3mm full wetsuit · warm water
    • Dive computer

  • For specific sites

    • Dive light · Pescador Island
    • Wide-angle camera setup · Panagsama Sardine Run