Gato Island
Conditions & tides
Scored by DiveConnect's site-physics model
Marine forecast via Copernicus Marine. Score is a rule-based guide from swell/wind vs. the site's exposure — always dive your own assessment.
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About this site
Gato Island is a small island off Malapascua in the Philippines, with several dive sites that intersect around a submerged limestone formation.
The best known feature is a natural tunnel that runs beneath the island. The entrance sits at roughly 8 to 10 metres, and the tunnel is about 10 to 15 metres long, wide enough for single file passage, with a low ceiling in places. A permanent population of whitetip reef sharks lives inside, usually two to four visible on any dive, along with large groupers and moray eels.
Outside the tunnel the walls extend to 25 metres, with dense coral gardens. Pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs and frogfish live on the surrounding walls. Dives typically last 50 to 60 minutes, starting with the tunnel transit and then working around the perimeter.
Marine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
Reef sharkReef sharkConfirmed present · 3 independent sources
ScorpionfishScorpionfishReported here · unconfirmed
CuttlefishCuttlefishReported here · unconfirmed
Moray eelMoray eelReported here · unconfirmed
Pygmy seahorsePygmy seahorseReported here · unconfirmed
Chocolate Chip Sea StarProtoreaster nodosusReported here · unconfirmed
Magnificent ChromodorisChromodoris magnificaReported here · unconfirmed
Gloomy NudibranchTambja morosaReported here · unconfirmed
Peacock-tail Anemone ShrimpAncylocaris brevicarpalisReported here · unconfirmed
Hypselodoris variobranchiaReported here · unconfirmed
Anemone Porcelain CrabNeopetrolisthes maculatusReported here · unconfirmed
LionfishLionfishReported here · unconfirmed
PufferfishPufferfishReported here · unconfirmed
Ghost pipefishGhost pipefishReported here · unconfirmed
GrouperGrouperReported here · unconfirmed
SquidSquidReported here · unconfirmed
MackerelMackerelConfirmed present · 2 independent sources
SeahorseSeahorseConfirmed present · 5 independent sources
NudibranchNudibranchConfirmed present · 6 independent sources
FrogfishFrogfishConfirmed present · 4 independent sources
Durable tips from divers — access, hazards, marine life, facilities. For day-of conditions, use the report tool in the conditions card above.
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