Pescador Island

Pescador Island
Geography
View of the island, taken from the cliff in Quo Vadis Dive Resort in Panagsama Beach
Pescador Island Location within the Philippines
Coordinates	9°55′23″N 123°20′38″E / 9.92306°N 123.34389°E / 9.92306; 123.34389Coordinates: 9°55′23″N 123°20′38″E / 9.92306°N 123.34389°E / 9.92306; 123.34389
Adjacent bodies of water	Tañon Strait
Administration
Philippines
Region	Central Visayas
Province	Cebu
Municipality	Moalboal

View of Pescador Island from Moalboal Bay

Pescador Island is an island located in the Tañon Strait, a few kilometres from the western coast of the island of Cebu in the Philippines. It is governed by the municipality of Moalboal.

The island derives its name from the Philippines' Spanish colonial heritage and the abundance of fish living on the surrounding coral reef, and the many fishermen that fish them ("pescador" translates from Spanish to "fisherman"). The rich marine life also attracts recreational divers from the many dive operations in nearby Panagsama.

The underwater composition of the Pescador island reef is a sandy slope covered with soft coral from 5–10 metres (16–33 ft), followed by a wall covered with hard corals dropping down to about 40 metres (130 ft). On the west side of the island, an open-top underwater cave nicknamed 'the Cathedral' can be found. Most recreational dive tours start at the island’s south end, and let the divers drift with the current either along the east or the west side of the island. Visibility conditions vary, but the current in the Tañon Strait pushes in clear water that often allows visibility up to 40 metres (130 ft). The island itself has a lighthouse and access steps on the north and east sides.

The warm waters of the Philippines harbour a very rich marine life, with over 2,500 species of fish,^[1] and many of these are also found around Pescador island, contributing to the island being so popular with recreational divers. A rather more unusual part of the Pescador island biodiversity is the large school of sardines that have made the relative sanctuary of the reef its home. After an earthquake in February 2012, the school left the island, affecting the population of larger predatory fish. However, in May 2013 the school returned and so did the bigger fish. Sightings of sharks have also been reported.

As Pescador Island is a marine park, dive shops are required to pay a fee for each diver they bring to the island. Proceeds from entrance fees are managed by the Municipality of Moalboal and Moalboal Dive Center Association (MDCA) towards the finance of a number of conservation programs in the municipality. These programs include patrols and enforcement to abolish destructive fishing, village improvement programs, collection and disposal of plastic and other wastes entering the local waters, marine conservation education of village children and adults, and reef and mangrove rehabilitation.

References

↑ Carpenter & Springer 2005.

Sources

Carpenter, Kent E.; Springer, Victor G. (2005). "The center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity: the Philippine Islands". Environmental Biology of Fishes 72 (4): 467–480. doi:10.1007/s10641-004-3154-4.

External links

Province of Cebu

Cebu City (capital)

Municipalities	Alcantara Alcoy Alegria Aloguinsan Argao Asturias Badian Balamban Bantayan Barili Boljoon Borbon Carmen Catmon Compostela Consolacion Cordova Daanbantayan Dalaguete Dumanjug Ginatilan Liloan Madridejos Malabuyoc Medellin Minglanilla Moalboal Oslob Pilar Pinamungajan Poro Ronda Samboan San Fernando San Francisco San Remigio Santa Fe Santander Sibonga Sogod Tabogon Tabuelan Tuburan Tudela

Component cities	Bogo Carcar Danao Naga Talisay Toledo

Highly urbanized cities	Cebu City Lapu-Lapu Mandaue (All are administratively independent from the province but grouped under Cebu by the National Statistics Office. Mandaue is grouped under the 6th legislative district of Cebu but still independent from the province.)

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