Malapascua Island
Encyclopedia
Malapascua Island is a Filipino
island situated in the Visayan Sea
, located across a shallow strait from the northernmost tip of Cebu Island. Administratively, it is part of the insular barangay of Logon, Daanbantayan Municipality, Cebu
Province, the Philippines. Malapascua is a tiny island, only about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) long and 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) wide, and has eight hamlets.
As a diving destination, Malapascua was "discovered" fairly recently, only in the early 90s. The island was first known for its wide white sand beach, known as Bounty Beach; it has also become known for its beautiful coral gardens and excellent local dive spots, as well as further-out sites including Gato Island, Monad Shoal, and Kemod Shoal. Monad Shoal is an underwater plateau where thresher sharks
and manta ray
s can be sighted on a regular basis.
Most of the islanders derive their livelihood from tourism, while some still rely on subsistence fishing and farming.
There are no licensed physicians present on the island, with the closest hospital situated several hours away.
The name “Malapascua” is said to have been given by some Spaniards whose ship happened to get stranded in the island on Christmas Day, December 25, 1520, due to bad weather. Because of their misfortune of having to spend Christmas away from their comrades and family stuck in a desolate island, the Spaniards called the island Mala Pascua, which literally means “Bad Christmas”. From then on the Spaniards and the non-locals would refer to the island as Malapascua, while the local residents insist that their place is called Logon.
Religiously, Malapascua Island or barangay Logon is believed to be the place where the Virgin delos Desamparados made a miracle sometime in 1890 when the island said to have only nine households of the Monteclar, Deogrades, Rosales, Gulfan, Rubio, Bohol and Bruces families. It was said to be a piece of wood that had never burnt. In 1907, the parish priest of Kandaya, now Daanbantayan town, Rev. Fr. Inocentes Maga, baptized it of its name upon the request of the local residents. The size of the image is not the original size and it is said to be growing until present. Devotees from different parts of the country and even abroad are coming during the feast on May 11 and 12 of every year. The chapel was originally made of coconut palm and leaves but at present, it is made of steel and cement because of donations of the devotees for the church’s improvement.
Economically, during the early period, natives of the island were dependent on fishing as a source of livelihood. Agricultural products such as corn and rice were supplied from Leyte which is close to the island. As time has changed the lives of the people and the discovery of the natural beauty and attraction, development gradually changed the living condition. Fishing is not so abundance as before prompting the people to shift to another business for tourism industry. Malapascua is still blessed to have the famous Thresher Sharks in the Monad Shoal, only in the world that gives so much attraction to foreign tourists. The people attributed the intercession of the Virgin of saving the people from scarcity of fish catch among fishermen to commercialization of the place due to the influx of tourists that give alternative livelihood among the residents and boost their income.
The site is best known as the only place in the world where thresher shark
s can be seen regularly before sunrise. They use the seamount as a cleaning station for wrasse to remove parasites from their skin and clean their gills and mouths. The shoal also attracts other pelagics such as devil ray
s and eagle ray
s. Manta ray
s and hammerheads
are seasonal. Monad Shoal is suitable for Nitrox. Because of the depth, it is recommended only for advanced SCUBA divers.
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
island situated in the Visayan Sea
Visayan Sea
The Visayan Sea is a sea in the Philippines, surrounded by the islands of the Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Western Visayas located to the east and west, while the Central Visayas is located to the south...
, located across a shallow strait from the northernmost tip of Cebu Island. Administratively, it is part of the insular barangay of Logon, Daanbantayan Municipality, Cebu
Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
Province, the Philippines. Malapascua is a tiny island, only about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) long and 1 kilometre (0.621372736649807 mi) wide, and has eight hamlets.
As a diving destination, Malapascua was "discovered" fairly recently, only in the early 90s. The island was first known for its wide white sand beach, known as Bounty Beach; it has also become known for its beautiful coral gardens and excellent local dive spots, as well as further-out sites including Gato Island, Monad Shoal, and Kemod Shoal. Monad Shoal is an underwater plateau where thresher sharks
Pelagic thresher
The pelagic thresher is a species of thresher shark, family Alopiidae; this group of sharks are characterized by the greatly elongated upper lobes of their caudal fins. The pelagic thresher occurs in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, usually far from shore but...
and manta ray
Manta ray
The manta ray is the largest species of the rays. The largest known specimen was more than across, with a weight of about . It ranges throughout waters of the world, typically around coral reefs...
s can be sighted on a regular basis.
Most of the islanders derive their livelihood from tourism, while some still rely on subsistence fishing and farming.
There are no licensed physicians present on the island, with the closest hospital situated several hours away.
The name “Malapascua” is said to have been given by some Spaniards whose ship happened to get stranded in the island on Christmas Day, December 25, 1520, due to bad weather. Because of their misfortune of having to spend Christmas away from their comrades and family stuck in a desolate island, the Spaniards called the island Mala Pascua, which literally means “Bad Christmas”. From then on the Spaniards and the non-locals would refer to the island as Malapascua, while the local residents insist that their place is called Logon.
Religiously, Malapascua Island or barangay Logon is believed to be the place where the Virgin delos Desamparados made a miracle sometime in 1890 when the island said to have only nine households of the Monteclar, Deogrades, Rosales, Gulfan, Rubio, Bohol and Bruces families. It was said to be a piece of wood that had never burnt. In 1907, the parish priest of Kandaya, now Daanbantayan town, Rev. Fr. Inocentes Maga, baptized it of its name upon the request of the local residents. The size of the image is not the original size and it is said to be growing until present. Devotees from different parts of the country and even abroad are coming during the feast on May 11 and 12 of every year. The chapel was originally made of coconut palm and leaves but at present, it is made of steel and cement because of donations of the devotees for the church’s improvement.
Economically, during the early period, natives of the island were dependent on fishing as a source of livelihood. Agricultural products such as corn and rice were supplied from Leyte which is close to the island. As time has changed the lives of the people and the discovery of the natural beauty and attraction, development gradually changed the living condition. Fishing is not so abundance as before prompting the people to shift to another business for tourism industry. Malapascua is still blessed to have the famous Thresher Sharks in the Monad Shoal, only in the world that gives so much attraction to foreign tourists. The people attributed the intercession of the Virgin of saving the people from scarcity of fish catch among fishermen to commercialization of the place due to the influx of tourists that give alternative livelihood among the residents and boost their income.
Monad Shoal
Perhaps the most popular SCUBA diving destination near Malapascua is Monad Shoal, a natural cleaning station for fish located about 20 minutes from the island. The shoal is a rather unremarkable 1.5 kilometre (0.93205910497471 mi) long rock stump at the edge of a 200 metres (656.2 ft) drop and has a flattish top at a depth of around 20 to 24 m (65.6 to 78.7 ). There is little in the way of coral on the top of the seamount which is swept by a strong current.The site is best known as the only place in the world where thresher shark
Thresher shark
Thresher sharks are large lamniform sharks of the family Alopiidae. Found in all temperate and tropical oceans of the world, the family contains three species all within the genus Alopias.-Taxonomy:...
s can be seen regularly before sunrise. They use the seamount as a cleaning station for wrasse to remove parasites from their skin and clean their gills and mouths. The shoal also attracts other pelagics such as devil ray
Mobula
Mobula is a genus of ray in the family Myliobatidae . Their appearance is similar to that of Manta rays, which are in the same family. The Devil fish can attain a disc width of up to 5.2 meters and can probably weigh over a ton, second only to the Manta in size...
s and eagle ray
Eagle ray
The eagle rays are a group of cartilaginous fishes in the family Myliobatidae, consisting mostly of large species living in the open ocean rather than on the sea bottom....
s. Manta ray
Manta ray
The manta ray is the largest species of the rays. The largest known specimen was more than across, with a weight of about . It ranges throughout waters of the world, typically around coral reefs...
s and hammerheads
Hammerhead shark
The hammerhead sharks are a group of sharks in the family Sphyrnidae, so named for the unusual and distinctive structure of their heads, which are flattened and laterally extended into a "hammer" shape called a "cephalofoil". Most hammerhead species are placed in the genus Sphyrna while the...
are seasonal. Monad Shoal is suitable for Nitrox. Because of the depth, it is recommended only for advanced SCUBA divers.