http://www.camperspoint.com/article.php3?id_article=264
and another. . .
. . . The area is rich in plankton, which is why mantas are drawn to it. 'Tis said that the currents in the bowl are so strong that they can rip off a diver's mask and strip away the parasites clinging to the bodies of the mantas and sharks.
A few nautical miles from Ticao is Donsol in Sorsogon, famed for the gentle butanding (whale shark). But while the butanding can be sighted for only a few months of the year, the mantas visit all year round. According to Nongnong, their sightings depend on the tide, the current, the moon, the wind and the presence of plankton.
He says that the aqua blue waters in the reef are clear and clean, and there are still live corals. These despite the unabated incidences of dynamite fishing in other parts of Ticao Pass, a fact that the Altarejos siblings have condemned and blamed on the non-presence of the Coast Guard and other authorities. The insurgency is a problem on Ticao island, but Nongnong says the New People's Army does not bother with divers.
