Diving Gato Island

[eagerbeaver]

Nice one Dan.

I think your black tip is a white tip though

No, it's oceanic blacktips being seen at Monad. I don't believe any oceanic whitetips have been sighted there. Reef whitetips there are tons of.

 

[eagerbeaver]

Thanks! Great pics, and we'll be there in a couple of weeks. Will put Gato on the list.

Have been talking to divers we have met here in the Philippines who said that most of the threshers have moved from Monad Shoal to Kimud Shoal, which is much smaller and shallower.

This was confirmed to me in person two days ago by a marine biologist from the Philippines Large Marine Vertebrates research lab. I met her in Southern Leyte. She said that this puts more divers in a smaller area to view the threshers in Malapascua, as well as opens it up to non-Advanced divers. So, she recommended getting the earliest boat possible for the best experience. She also is there now (I think) hoping to work with dive shops to set up some remote GoPros at depth at Monad to verify what sharks are currently using it. Rumors from traveling divers we have talked to (and some videos and posts here) suggest more use by tiger, and oceanic white tip / other sharks at Monad rather than the threshers in recent months.

Anyway, your images are GREAT. Really appreciate the info!

Check our FB for some pics! Evolution Beach & Dive Resort

 

[Dan]

No, it's oceanic blacktips being seen at Monad. I don't believe any oceanic whitetips have been sighted there. Reef whitetips there are tons of.

Matt, @Searcaigh was referring to the typo that I put in the video around 1:24-1:28 minutes of the video on the resident Whitetip Reef Shark, that I mistakenly wrote “Blacktip Reef Shark”. Sometime people commonly drop the word “Reef” for Whitetip Reef Shark to just Whitetip Shark.

It is good to hear that Oceanic Blacktip Shark being seen at Monad. I’d like to see them there someday. I saw quite a few of them in Cocos.

The only time I saw Oceanic Whitetip Sharks was when I was in Elphinestone, Red Sea. It’s such a beautiful Sharks, the long pectoral fins make it look like a jet fighter plane flying underwater.