Malapascua trip

I've just returned from a very enjoyable diving trip in Malapascua, the Philippines with the Pretty Lady and some other friends (CW, KY, FZ and the Divernator). I saw thresher sharks (ticking one item off my shark to-see list), a blue ringed octopus, sea snakes, decorator crabs, some sort of (big) moray buried in the sand, filefish displaying, mandarin fish mating and mantis shrimp.

Less enjoyably, I got stung by jellyfish 6 times, missed a mola-mola and a manta ray by 2 minutes on 2 separate dives, and was given a nasty shock when someone went dynamite fishing nearby. More conservation, eat less seafood please.

It's happening again...

Last time, I saw this:



Now, I'm hoping to see this...:

...and this:

I'm going to dive Malapascua (in the Philippines) and visit the thresher sharks and manta rays at Monad Shoal!

(Great hammerhead and manta ray from Elasmodiver, and the thresher shark from Dive Phillipines).

10 rays I want to see while scuba diving

Rays are the other big attraction for me when scuba diving. They have been easier to see than sharks - I've already seen a few species. The big ones though, still elude me (and some interesting little ones as well). Rays are less endangered than sharks, although some are still hunted for food. I'm relatively alright with that, as most people eat all of the ray (although not all, as will be shown below). Overfishing is still decimating our oceans though, and if we can't farm rays properly, arguably we shouldn't be fishing for them.

1. Spotted eagle ray

The family of eagle rays is called Myliobatididae. There are between 6 and 8 genera in this family, depending whether or not one counts mantas and cownose rays as members. Spotted eagle rays are up to 2m long, not including the tail, and with a wingspan of up to 2.5m. They can be found all through the Atlantic and in the Indian Ocean. This species is fished heavily, and is endangered. As with most rays, spotted eagle rays dig crustaceans, molluscs and cephalopods out of the ocean floor for food. These rays do not lay eggs, instead giving birth to live young. Image from Sea Saba, a dive operator operating out of Saba in the Dutch Caribbean.

2. Manta ray

Manta birostris, from the family Mobulidae, are the second-best thing I'd ever hope to see on a dive (the first is the whale shark). Their most distinctive feature is the two "horns" around their mouth, which probably serve to direct plankton when feeding. Mantas can grow up to 9m in wingspan, and can weigh several tons. They are found in all oceans, being a true circumoceanic creature. The adjacent image is from National Geographic, and depicts a baby manta born in Japan last year.

3. Cownose ray

Cownose rays, from the family Rhinopteridae, are so named for the distinctive snout that they possess. They use their pectoral fins to dig up molluscs and crustaceans for food, crushing them in heavy dental plates. They are found all over the world, with different species inhabiting different oceans. The Atlantic cownose ray, shown in the image (from the Washington Post, in a story about how cownose rays have decimated an oyster farm) gives birth to live young in mangrove swamps rather than in salt water. They can be up to 1m in wingspan.

4. Shovelnose guitarfish

The shovelnose guitarfish is from the family Rhinobatidae, which contains about 10 genera. They are rays, although they swim as a shark would, and have a similar body plan. This particular species can be found around Australia, and there is one documented case of an attack on a diver. Luckily, guitarfishes have small, blunt teeth, which they use to eat small crustaceans. The shovelnose guitarfish gives birth to live young. Adjacent image from Elasmodiver.

5. Southern stingray

The southern stingray is one of about 70 species in seven genera in the family Dasyatidae. It is found in the Western Atlantic, and can be up to 2m in wingspan. They also give birth to live young. There's a dive site in Grand Cayman called Stingray City where southern stingrays gather. Fishermen used to moor there to sort their catch, and the stingrays were initially attracted by the food. Since then divers have discovered the stingrays, and now dive with and feed them. Adjacent image from Elasmodiver.

6. Brazilian numbfish

The Brazilian numbfish belongs to the family Narcinidae, of which there are about 9 genera. These rays are disc-shaped and have a large caudal fin. They are bottom dwelling, digging for prey with their pectoral fins, and are able to stun their prey by delivering an electric shock using organs in their head. The Brazilian numbfish is found in the Western Atlantic and can grow up to about 30cm in length. Adjacent image from Wikipedia.

7. Masked stingaree

The masked stingaree is a member of the family Urolophidae, which contains 3 genera. Some species are found in brackish water. They have many papillae below their mouth, a feature which is used to distinguish them by species. The masked stingaree is found in Australia, and can grow up to about 50cm in length. The adjacent image is from the very helpful Elasmodiver.


8. California butterfly ray

The California butterfly ray is one of the species hunted for food. It is from the family Gymnuridae, which contains about 14 species in 2 genera. It is found in the Pacific along the coastal regions of North, Central and South America, feeding off bivalves, molluscs and crustaceans. It can grow up to 1.7m in wingspan, and the large pectoral fins make it idea for fishing. The adjacent image shows a discarded California butterfly ray after fishermen have taken the saleable bits - fillets, from mexfish.org.

9. Thornback skate

Skates are defined as members of the family Rajidae. They are small rays, often a metre or less in wingspan. They feed on benthic animals, that is the molluscs and crustaceans that dwell on the ocean floor, like so many other members of the ray family. Thornback skates are found in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean, including around Britain. They have the pointed thorns on the back and tail that give them their name. Adjacent image from Marlin, the Marine Life Information Network for Britain and Ireland.

10. Ornate sleeper ray

Ornate sleeper rays are of the family Narkidae, which has 4 genera and about 10 species. The scientific name for this ray is Electrolux addisoni - and yes, it's named after the company, because of its vigorous sucking action when feeding. It's endemic to South Africa. They are usually found in deep waters, so I'm unlikely to see one. This particular species probably represents my best chance. And it's best to be wary of it, because like the Narcinidae numbfish, it can generate a powerful enough electric shock to deter sharks. Adjacent image from the East Coast Fish Watch Project, with a description of how this species was collected and described.


I've seen an eagle ray, once, on a night dive in the Red Sea. I've also seen many blue-spotted stingrays, about 70cm in wingspan, of the family Dasyatidae, on dives in the Red Sea and in Sipadan. With some luck I'll see the rest, starting with Manta birostris.

And finally, this particular creature doesn't seem to fit with either sharks or rays, so I'd thought I'd squeeze it in at the end of this post. As you can see, it's very unusual.

11. Large toothed sawfish

Sawfishes are related to sharks and rays, but are neither. They belong to the family Pristidae, and are still thought of as elasmobranchs. Their most interesting feature is that saw-toothed snout, called a rostrum. Like the bill of the platypus, the rostrum is electro-sensitive, and enables the sawfish to detect the movements of its prey buried beneath the sand. The saw-teeth aid in digging the prey up. The large-toothed sawfish can be up to 6.5m long, and is found in the Pacific, from southern Africa to Indonesia and Vietnam. It can live in fresh and brackish water, and has been fished to endangered status. Adjacent image from BBC News.

10 sharks that I would like to see when diving

I like sharks. Partly because of their rarity - I did 50 dives before ever spotting a shark - but also because they are magnificent creatures. I've not felt any fear yet (although that's likely to be because I've not seen any really dangerous sharks) when I've encountered them underwater, more of a "Wow!" feeling. It's a real shame that sharks are being hunted into extinction to supply the East Asian market for shark's fin soup - something which is is purely vanity, as shark's fin has no taste, and probably the same nutritional value as other cartilage. I've given up eating shark's fin, and I tell others not to eat it either. The soup tastes the same without the fin, although perhaps it's cheaper, and thus doesn't have the same cachet. Don't eat sharks.

1. Wobbegongs.

Wobbegongs, also known as carpet sharks, are a family (Orectolobidae) of 8 species known so far. They live in the Pacific and Indian Ocean, with a number of species commonly found around Australia. They obviously look very different from your archetypal shark, with a flattened body, broad head, and barbels around the mouth. The largest species is the spotted wobbegong, which grows up to 3.2m long. There are records of divers being bitten without provocation - wobbegongs are thought to have poor vision and are thus likely to mistake a diver for a threat.

2. Basking sharks.

Basking sharks, from the family Cetorhinidae, are found in temperate oceans, and are between 6 to 10m long (image from Elasmodiver). They are filter feeders, and quite often make the news here in the UK by visiting the coast of Cornwall. As one can see from the image, they are very impressive when they open their mouths to filter plankton through those gill frills. Older records state that there used to be schools of tens, even hundreds of basking sharks, but overfishing has reduced school sizes to a few tens at most. What a shame.

3. Ragged tooth sharks.

Ragged tooth sharks, also known as sand tiger sharks (or not - my shark taxonomy is a bit hazy), are part of a family called Odontaspididae. They have quite a wide distribution, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, and from the Indian Ocean to the North Pacific around Japan. As can be seen from the image, they get their name from the rows of teeth that jut out from their jaw. But they're not too long though - between 2-3m.

4. Thresher sharks.

Thresher sharks, easily recognisable by the long upper tail fin (caudal), are members of a family called Alopiidae. There are 3 species, ranging from 3-5m long (image from malapascua-diving.com). These sharks use that long caudal fin to stun schools of fish when they hunt. According to my guide to sharks and rays, there is a report of a thresher shark that slapped a loon sitting on the surface! They're also commonly thought to be the swiftest shark around, and are distributed in the North Pacific.

5. Whale sharks.

Whale sharks are a single species in the family Rhincodontidae. They are found in both the Pacific and the Atlantic, and are many a diver's dream to see. They're certainly on my list. Whale sharks are plankton feeders, although contrary to popular wisdom they do eat baitfish. They are the largest species of shark (very impressive image from aasharks.com), and probably the best to swim with, since they wouldn't eat the snorkeller or diver. One day...

6. Hammerheads.

Right, I've seen hammerheads (one of them anyway), but the best possible sighting here has to be a large school. These sharks are fairly common sightings in schools throughout the Pacific, and are one of the species hunted heavily for its fins. There are 9 known species from the family Sphyrnidae, ranging from just under a metre to 6m long. Their most interesting feature is of course the hammer-shaped head, which enables them to eat rays off the sea floor. They are also known to reproduce by parthenogenesis (image and detail from Retrospectacle, a great blog which I recommend reading).

7. Goblin sharks.

Goblin sharks are weird, interesting and rare. They are the only species in the family Mitsukurinidae, and as the name implies, the holotype was found near Japan. It's pink, and has a fleshy protrusion just above the mouth. They are deep water sharks, found in both the Pacific and the Atlantic, off the coast of the US as well as in Australia and Japan. They are usually about 2-3m long. The chances of seeing this while diving are very slim - there have been some encounters near Cairns, but that's it as far as I know.

8. Nurse sharks.

These sharks are relatively common - found in most coastal subtropical waters (including off Tioman Island, but not in the Red Sea apparently). There are 3 species in the family Ginglymostomatidae. They are quite friendly and will often come right up to divers to investigate them. They have 2 distinctive barbels in front of their mouths. Still not seen any yet.

9. Angel sharks.

These are very interesting - they look like a cross between wobbegongs and some type of ray, but belong to the shark family (image from prdiving.com). Like rays, they have flattened bodies and large pectoral fins, although unlike rays they clearly have caudal and dorsal fins too. There are 16 species in the family Squatinidae, and are endangered due to (what else?) overfishing. Found in both the Atlantic and the Pacific, especially off the coastal United States.

10. Megamouth sharks.

This one is even more rare than the goblin shark! It's been seen a few dozen times since being discovered in 1976, with only a single encounter by a diver (off California, I believe). It looks quite fearsome, about 5m long and huge mouth, but is actually a plankton feeder. One species is known from the order Megachasmidae. Its usual habitat is deep water, in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, with about 10 specimens off Japan, according to Wikipedia.


And lastly, one shark that I definitely would NOT like to see when diving. I don't think I'm even ever going to go cage diving. Call me chicken, but I'm quite happy viewing these from the safety of the sofa, thank you.

11. Great white sharks.

One of 5 species from the order Lamnidae. The others are quite impressive as well (the order includes the porbeagle). Great whites are universally considered the most dangerous shark, and are found off rocky coasts and kelp forests (and rarely near coral reefs), where they hunt seals. They are responsible for quite a few attacks on humans off the coast of Australia. Apparently they spawn and mate somewhere off Malta, where I dived in 2005...


There are 3 other species of sharks deemed dangerous to humans - the tiger shark, the bull shark and the oceanic white-tip shark. The latter is difficult to distinguish from the reef white-tip shark, which doesn't really attack humans and is common around coral reefs. Got to be careful if I ever see one. All three are members of the family Carcharhinidae.

Sipadan, Mabul and Kapalai

From 9 December to 15 December, I was with the Pretty Lady and a friend, CY at a little resort off the coast of Sabah (the Malaysian part of Borneo), slightly misnamed Sipadan Water Village. It's actually on Mabul island, Sipadan having been closed since a an accident on a construction barge sheared off the top of a major coral reef and dumped a ton of bricks on to the main drop off in 2006. Only military personnel are allowed to stay on the island now.

So we had to stay on Mabul, and had to travel to Sipadan daily. This wasn't a big deal despite the daily limit on the number of divers - it was low season and there were too few divers at all the resorts to fill up the daily quota!

I made about 14 dives over the week, one or two more than the Pretty Lady did. We saw a hammerhead shark (one of two the guide had seen in 2007 - we were very lucky), who surprised a keen photographer, buzzed the dive guide, rounded us twice and swam off into the blue. We saw 20 to 30 turtles, including a giant that was snoozing at the base of the marker buoy on the house reef, Paradise 1. We saw several thousand schooling barracuda at Barracuda Point. We saw a school of bump-head parrotfish make their round island morning swim, 3 times. We saw 2 huge snow crabs on a night dive. We saw a titan triggerfish building its nest. We saw 2 frogfish lurking in an artificial reef underneath a converted oil rig. We saw numerous shrimps , nudibranches and crabs, some almost too tiny to see.

It was a wonderful trip, and I'm a little sorry I didn't buy a camera and a casing at Changi Airport. I probably wouldn't have caught the hammerhead though. Maybe next time!

10 new places to dive

It's cold and wintry back in London - what a change from several weeks of warm tropical sun. The diving trip was wonderful, completely relaxing with great and lucky diving. I also found out from some old and new friends about some new (to me), wonderful places to dive in South East Asia.

1. Puerto Galera - Philippines

Thresher sharks, manta rays and other big pelagic life. But I'll be going mainly for the thresher sharks.

2. Komodo - Indonesia

Diveable only by liveaboard apparently. Mantas and other large pelagics. Includes a stop to see komodo dragons on komodo!

3. Lembeh Straits - Indonesia

Muck. Nudibranches, shrimps and crabs. Pretty interesting with the right crowd...

4. Raja Ampat - Indonesia

Better go before the coral dies. Apparently this is the reef to beat all reefs.


5. Pulau Weh - Indonesia

Off the coast of Acheh. Great reef life, some muck, but pelagics occasionally make an appearance. Hard to get to.

6. Similan Islands - Thailand

World famous. Big pelagics - mantas, and the occasional whale shark. Liveaboards only.

7. Burma Banks - Myanmar

Pretty difficult to get to, but unspoilt. Big, big pelagics - hammerheads, mantas, threshers and whale sharks.

8. Dungun - Malaysia

Off Kuala Dungun, there are some interesting islands which are frequented by whale sharks. Not Redang and not Perhentian obviously. Lang Tengah, possibly.

9. Malapascua - Philippines

Thresher sharks. Lots of reef life and some pelagics, but the highlight is apparently the threshers.

10. Milne Bay - Papua New Guinea

Milne Bay is a province! 160 islands, unspoilt, with some wrecks to go with the beautiful reef life and big pelagics.


And lastly one old, beautiful place:

11. Sipadan, Kapalai, Mabul - Malaysia

I saw many wonderful things here. 2 dives on Sipadan in the morning, 1 muck dive in the afternoon around Kapalai or Mabul. A week of this - heaven!


The goal is to tick off these places on by one! The next trip looks like it will be to Puerto Galera, if I can get everyone to agree.