Asian Diver — October 2017

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UTTER THE WORD “MALAPASCUA” to

anyone in the dive community and you

will see their eyes widen with excitement

and hear the words “thresher sharks”

fall from their mouths. In the underwater

world, there is probably nowhere else

that is both so small and has attained

such a singular reputation. It is indeed

the best place to see the elusive thresher

shark and a pilgrimage to Malapascua

sits high on most divers’ bucket list.

I too have repeatedly been drawn back

to this island paradise in search of

threshers, but Malapascua is about so

much more than sharks...

THRESHERS AT DAWN

The quest to see a thresher doesn’t

come without a little pain. These

sharks spend most of their time in deep

pelagic waters, below the reaches of

recreational diving, and their forays into

the shallower waters are hard to predict.

In the 1990s, divers first took the plunge

at Monad Shoal, a seamount in middle

of the ocean and a thresher shark

cleaning station.

MALAPASCUA:

MORE THAN

THRESHERS

Text & images by Henley Spiers

This world-famous shark destination

offers the intrepid diver a rich variety of

underwater delights

MALAPASCUA: MORE THAN THRESHERS

PHILIPPINES

MALAPASCUA

MALAPASCUA