Thresher Shark Dive, Malapascua

                 Thresher Sharks of Monad Shoal
   When we started researching our dive trip to the Philippines we started hearing about a site near Malapascua Island where divers frequently encounter thresher sharks. Before this I had never heard of any scuba divers encountering this shark before. They usually live offshore and stay very deep in the water. The more I read about this place called Monad Shoal, the more I wanted to go see it for myself. I am a huge shark fan, and seeing one in the water is always a dream come true. This would be the 21st species of shark that I have swam with if I am lucky enough to see one. It turns out I did see a thresher shark here in Malapascua, but not just one, I saw 5 thresher sharks and had some incredible close encounters. Now the thresher shares a place on my list alongside an oceanic white tip, great whites, hammerheads, and whale sharks. Only about 360 more species of sharks to go if I want to swim with them all.

   The thresher shark dive at Monad Shoal is an advanced, blue water dive. The shoal is a submerged island that comes to its highest point at about 40ft deep. When you swim over the edge of the dropoff you see a never ending wall. I'm not sure how deep it goes since we couldn't see the bottom but I did hear the number 200 meters being thrown around on the boat. Better not drop my camera here.
    We swam down the dropoff to a small ledge about 100ft down. This is the perfect place to dive nitrox (an oxygen enriched air mixture) since your bottom time is pretty short. There is a line bolted into the bottom which divers are not allowed to pass. In front of you small fish dart around close to the edge. It turns out these fish are cleaner fish which draw the thresher sharks up from the depths to get picked clean of parasites and dead skin. The visibility ranged from poor to medium on my dives here but I was shocked to see the sharks come within feet of me and the other divers. My dive guide J.N. was always amazing at getting us in the perfect position for close encounters. At one point the thresher shark circled close to me, almost bumping my camera.

  The sharks were so graceful in the water. Most were between 10 to 12ft long. About half this length was their long upper lobe on their tail. Big eyes help them see in the darker, deeper water where they thrive. Huge pectoral fins jut out from their sides giving an airplane like silhouette if you are lucky enough for one to pass over you and momentarily block out the early morning sun.

  These sharks are non aggressive towards humans. Even more amazing is that they are not scared off by the noisy bubbles created by scuba divers. This is a one of a kind dive and a must do for any Philippines trip or shark enthusiast. I wonder which shark will be next on my list!

  Check out a video of one of the close encounters here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM5wLeJOaWU
  This video was filmed all on one dive by my divemaster holding my GoPro Hero 3 as I took pictures in front of him.