Monad Shoal (Thresher Shark)

Monad Shoal is a submerged plateau a short boat ride off Malapascua Island, north of Cebu in the Visayas region of the Philippines. It is known internationally as one of the few places where thresher sharks can be reliably seen, drawn to cleaning stations on the shoal in the early morning hours, and divers have reported them here. The site tops out at a maximum depth of around 15 metres and is rated a beginner dive. Dives are usually run before dawn to catch the sharks before they move back into deeper water, and besides the threshers, divers sometimes see devil rays and other pelagic visitors passing over the same cleaning stations.

Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.

• Pelagic Thresher SharkAlopias pelagicusReported here · unconfirmed
• Whitetip Reef SharkTriaenodon obesusReported here · unconfirmed
• Long-spined Crown-of-ThornsAcanthaster planciReported here · unconfirmed
• Pygmy SeahorseHippocampus bargibantiReported here · unconfirmed
• Ryukyu Fairy WrasseCirrhilabrus ryukyuensisReported here · unconfirmed
• Squat Anemone ShrimpThor amboinensisReported here · unconfirmed
• Spiny SeahorseHippocampus histrixReported here · unconfirmed
• Clark's AnemonefishAmphiprion clarkiiReported here · unconfirmed
• Three-spot DascyllusDascyllus trimaculatusReported here · unconfirmed
• Dusky NembrothaNembrotha kubaryanaReported here · unconfirmed
• Thresher sharkThresher sharkReported here · unconfirmed