when you have been bitten by the diving bug, you will understand why it is so exciting to see rare marine life swim interview out of the deep. Sharks in particular hold an incredible fascination for me, being one of the top predators in the ocean, majestically streamlined, Kings of the underwater realm they are absolutely magical to dive with. There are hundreds of species of shark all over the place, many are very rarely seen due to them living deep down in the ocean, the thresher shark named because it has a huge whiplike tail, is no exception to this rule.
The thresher shark can be 6 m long, depending on the species (there are three different types of thresher shark) however half of the thresher’s body is made up by its impressive and distinctive tail. The thresher shark is listed as in danger of extinction, so it is a great privilege to be able to see one when you dive. If you want to see one, one of the best places to go diving with them, is in malapascua in the Philippines, a small and stunning tropical island, in Cebu province. This is the location for our shark dive master programme, which due to being a course running for several months gives you the best opportunity to encounter Threshers.
Threshers were discovered there about 10 years ago, by our partner dive school, and they are usually found that just one dive site called the monad Shoal. This is a giant underwater pinnacle, which peaks out at 30 m, with a big flat top, about 100 m² in size, the edges of the pinnacle drop-down to about 200 m, and it is believed that the Threshers gather at the top of the pinnacle to be cleaned just after the sun comes up. It is in effect a thresher shark cleaning station, making it the ideal spot to hover over and observe the Threshers.
I have dived the monad Shoal about six times, and on only one occasion caught a glimpse of a thresher in the distance. Other divers on my dive were lucky enough to have been with them for the majority of the dive, so luck does play a big element of whether you will successfully counter them.
To see them you have to get up very early in the morning, well before sunrise, and then enter the water just as the sun comes up, there is a feeling of nervous excitement and anticipation on the boat as you gear up. Will you see them? Will you not? It’s quite a buzz. Imagine seeing a 6 m shark swim out of the blue towards you, pass within a couple of metres of you, it’s huge thresher tail sliding right past your face! Pretty thrilling stuff, and not your typical dive.
On days when you are not lucky to see the Threshers, there are plenty of other things to see. A lot of unique sea life is found off the shores of Malapascua, it is a favorite destination for documentary film producers, with lots of incredible macro Marine life.
if you are into the idea of spending a decent amount of time diving, living the life on a tropical island (one that is far enough away from the typical backpacker trail) then this is the place for you.
