SEA LIFE IN THE PHILIPPINES; WHALE SHARKS, SEA SHELLS, SNAKES

FISH IN THE PHILIPPINES

Situated at the apex of the Coral Triangle, the Philippines boasts the highest concentration of marine species per unit area on Earth—often referred to as the "center of the center" of marine shore fish biodiversity. Its rich ocean waters harbor between 2,000 and 2,500 species of reef and marine fish. This extraordinary life is sustained by vast coral networks, mangroves, and seagrass beds that serve as crucial feeding and breeding grounds across the archipelago.

Reef ecosystems host the vast majority of this species wealth, with over 1,700 species living directly among shallow and mesophotic coral reefs. This environment is dominated by high numbers of damselfish, wrasses, gobies, and parrotfish, alongside iconic reef dwellers like the colorful clown anemonefish, the blue tang, and the massive bumphead parrotfish.

Beyond the reefs, the open ocean and deep-water trenches support a dynamic array of pelagic and deep-sea species. Large migratory fish—such as yellowfin tuna, skipjack, and mahi-mahi—traverse the offshore currents, while giant oceanic manta rays glide along deep drop-offs alongside specialized mesophotic species adapted to low-light conditions. The region is equally famous for its cartilaginous fishes, supporting roughly 168 species of sharks and rays. Iconic marine giants frequent these waters, including the world's largest gathering of whale sharks off Donsol and Oslob, as well as the rare, deep-diving pelagic thresher sharks famously spotted around Malapascua Island.

Rounding out this vibrant marine landscape are unique micro-endemic and specialized species isolated within specific island groups. Sough-after species like the intricately patterned mandarinfish, tiny pygmy seahorses hiding among sea fans, and rare pipefish showcase the extraordinary niche evolutionary adaptations found throughout the Philippine seas.

Dozens of kinds of endemic fish are found in Philippine reefs. They include the aptly named psychedelic fish. The largest fish in the world, the whale shark, locally known as Butanding, regularly swims in the Philippine waters. The world’s shortest and lightest freshwater fish is the dwarf pygmy goby (Pandaka Pygmaea), a colorless and nearly transparent species found in the streams and lakes of Luzon. Males have an average length of 8.7 mm. and weigh 4-5 mg. Groupers have been dangerously overfished in the Philippines. The Philippines has established reserves for fish.

Pearls, Seahorses and the Tropical Fish Trade in the Philippines

Iconic fishes art

Turbaned Moros islanders used to make their living as pearl divers. When the Japanese learned how to culture pearls they found themselves out of a job. These divers today make a living by collecting sea shells. Some of them still use they same wooden goggles they have used for centuries.

The world's largest pearl was discovered by a Filipino diver in a giant clam in the Palawan Sea in 1934. Known as the "Pearl of Lao-Tzu", the gem weighs 14 pounds and measures 9½ inches in length long and 5½ inches in diameter. As of May 1984, it was valued at US$42 million. It is believed to be 600 years old.

A good portion of the fish caught in the Philippines are sent live to Hong Kong fish markets or aquarium fish distributors in the United States. The Philippines is a major supplier for the sea-water aquarium trade. According to some estimates it supplies 30-50 percent of the fish for the pet industry. Clownfish and neon gobis from the Philippines are now raised in fish farms in the Bahamas. Some of the local people that catch fish for the pet trade use tiny nets and fins made of plywood and old tires.

The Philippines, Thailand and India are the largest exporters of seahorses, which are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. Among the most peculiar creatures in the water, seahorses are small saltwater fish belonging to the Syngnathidae family (order Gasterosteiformes), which also includes pipefish and sea dragons. There are at least 50 known seahorse species in the world. They inhabit temperate and tropical waters but most of them are concentrated in the warm coastal waters of the Philippines. Most seahorse species live in the Coral Triangle.

Sea Shells in the Philippines

With its thousands of reefs, islands, channels and different marine habitats, the Philippines is considered a mecca for sea shell collectors. The Indo-Pacific region contain the world's most diverse offering of shells and within this vast region the Philippines has greatest variety. The best hunting grounds are said to be around the islands in the Sulu Sea and an area know as the Camotes Sea off of Cebu. [Source: Paul Zahl Ph.D., National Geographic, March 1969 [┭];

Filipino islanders eat about every kind of shell animal imaginable except for the large white cowrie which doesn't taste very good. Some people eat deadly poisonous cone snails as a delicacy.

Researchgate

Russia's Catherine the Great and Francis I, husband of Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, were both avid shell collector. One of their most prized possessions was a 2½ inch precious wentletrap from the Philippines. In the 18th century these shells sold for $20,000 in today's money. ┭

There are 12,000 or so species of seashells in the Philippines. Both the Tridacna gigas, one of the world's largest shells, and Pisidum, the world's tiniest shell, can be found in Philippine waters. Tridacna gigas grows as large as one meter in length and weighs 300 kilograms while Pisidum is less than 1 millimeter long. Of the eight known species of giant clams in the world, seven are found in the Philippines. The nautilus an other primeval creatures are most often around Palau and the Philippines.

Rare Sea Shells in the Philippines

Among the rarest and most sought after of all shells are coweries, a great variety of which are found in the Philippines. These single-shelled mollusks with a zipper-like opening on the bottom come with dazzling variety of colors and markings. Some look like they have the milky way imprinted on the their backs. Others looked eggs with hundred of lip-stick smudges. Money cowries are still used as currency in some places. Fisherman often attach them to their nets for good luck and brides are sometimes given them to promote fertility. One of the rarest shells is the world is spotted Leucodon cowries. Only three of them are known to exist in the world, one of which was found in the stomach of a fish. ┭

Even rarer still is the “Conus gloriamaris”, the beautiful “glory of the seas,” considered to be one of the rarest and most expensive shells in the world. "This regal shell," says biologist Paul Zahl, "with its tapered spire and its elegant color patterns reticulated like the finest needlework, satisfies both the artist's requirement of exceptional beauty and the collector's demand for exceptional rarity...Before 1837 only half a dozen were known to exist. In that year famous British collector, Hugh Cuming, visiting a reef near Jagna, Bohol Island..turned over a small rock, and found two, side by side. He recalled that he nearly fainted with delight. When the reef vanished after an earthquake, the world believed that only habitat of “gloriamaris” had disappeared forever." The shell was so famous that a Victorian novel was written with plot revolving around the theft of one, and real specimen in fact really stolen from the American Museum of Natural History in 1951. ┭

The most interesting shells include the Giant Pacific triton, which some people make into trumpets. The triumphant star layers eggs with long prongs and the Venus comb looks like a skeleton. The strong translucent shells of the windowpane oyster are sometimes substituted for glass. At one time lamps and windchimes made from these yellowish shells were very fashionable. Filipino fisherman used to dredge these shells up by the thousands to meet the world demand. ┭

Sea Snakes in the Philippines

Researchgate

Sea snakes belong to the Family Hydrophiidae. They differ in appearance from other snakes in that they have an oar-like tail and laterally compressed bodies to aid in swimming. Sea snakes are air breathers and must surface to breathe. A specialized lung and nostrils with valves enable sea snakes to remain submerged for periods of up to 8 hours. Most sea snakes are completely marine and lack the enlarged ventral scales that enable land snakes to grip the ground. Once ashore, these ocean-going snakes are helpless, and cannot crawl. Generally, sea snakes are not aggressive. They are not thought to strike humans unless provoked, nor do they typically actively pursue swimming prey. However, there are species that may bite if they are stepped on or handled roughly. Species include the Lake Taal snake (Hydrophis semperi), pelagic sea snake (Pelamis platurus), yellow-lipped sea krait (Laticauda colubrina), Stoke’s seasnake (Astrotia stokesii). [Source: U.S. Army, Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (Usachppm) Entomological Sciences Program, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland]

All sea snakes have fixed fangs and potent venom. Stoke’s sea snakes have fangs that are capable of penetrating a wetsuit. Some species of sea snakes have venom that is several times more toxic than the cobra’s. Fortunately, only small amounts of venom are usually injected, so fatalities are rare. The most serious bites involve multiple serrated-edged lacerations which may result in death from respiratory, heart, or kidney failure. The venom of sea snakes is painless and only small amounts of venom are usually injected. Fatalities are rare. The more serious bites involve multiple serrated-edged lacerations that produce muscle stiffness, difficulties in speaking and swallowing, flu-like symptoms and muscular paralysis. Antivenin is available which can neutralize the effects of the venom of most species of cobras. No species specific antivenins are produced for sea snakes.

The Philippines have one of the highest densities of sea snake populations in the world and these marine reptiles are commonly encountered in both the inshore and offshore waters throughout the archipelago. One species of sea snake, the Lake Taal snake, is the only known species to have adapted to fresh water, and lives in a flooded volcanic caldera on Luzon. The greatest numbers of sea snakes are found in warm, shallow waters, without strong surf or current, along coastlines. The mouths of rivers, bays, and mangrove swamps are especially favored. They thrive in a variety of habitats, ranging from muddy or turbid water to clear waters and coral reefs. Many species of sea snakes enter brackish or freshwater occasionally. Some species of sea snakes that inhabit the deeper ocean waters are only rarely found close to shore, when wind or currents cause beach strandings.

Masses of Sardines Overwhelm Beaches in the Philippines

In October 2024, a large school of sardines gathered near the shore at Panagsama Beach in Moalboal, Cebu, attracting residents and visitors. People along the coast collected many of the fish, while videos of the event were shared online. Witnesses described the unusually large concentration of sardines as a striking sight. [Source David Strege, FTW Outdoors, November 9, 2024]

A separate and much larger sardine stranding occurred in January 2024 along the coast of Maasim in Sarangani Province, Mindanao. Millions of sardines, many of them juveniles, were reported in shallow waters and along several beaches. Residents collected large quantities of the fish, with some reportedly gathering tens of kilograms and one family collecting more than 0.5 metric tons. [Source: Harry Baker, Live Science, January 10, 2024]

The January stranding occurred about 48 hours before a magnitude-6.7 earthquake in the Celebes Sea, leading to speculation that the sardines had detected the approaching earthquake. Researchers, however, found no evidence connecting the two events. A researcher from the Protected Area Management Office of Sarangani Bay said the timing was most likely coincidental.

The likely explanation was an oceanographic process called upwelling, in which nutrient-rich deep water rises toward the surface and can stimulate plankton growth. Sardines feed on plankton and may have followed the food into shallow coastal waters, where they became trapped and subsequently stranded. Changes in water temperature or salinity, predator movements, an abundance of sardines and artificial light may also have contributed to the event.

Whale Shark Watching Festival in the Philippines

Swimming with whale sharks has been a popular tourist activity since 1998, when the animals were discovered in the area around Donsol, a fishing town in Sorsogon province, which serves as a sanctuary to a group of 40 whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), the largest fish in the world. Locally known as "butanding", whale sharks visit the waters of Donsol from November to May. They travel across the oceans but nowhere else have they been sighted in a larger group than in the waters of Sorsogon. They measure between 18 to 35 feet in length and weigh about 20 tons.

The municipality of Donsol hosts a month-long festival in April to honor the whale shark – and give thanks to it for additional jobs and livelihood derived from local and foreign visitors’ interaction tours with the “gentle giants”. During the Butanding Festival, the local people and visitors participate in a celebration, which culminates with a regatta exhibition and maritime parade consisting of more than 50 boats with banners and giant images of the butanding along the Donsol River. There is also a street parade along the town’s main thoroughfares consisting of life-size images of the butandings on floats accompanied by village (barangay) delegations, brass bands, drum and bugle corps, and the festival street-dancing contingent winners from other Bicol provinces. Life-size whale shark made of bamboo and rice sack cloth are paraded during whale shark festival . [Source: jurgenfreund.com]

Whale Sharks Feeding Attracts Tourists, Money and Controversy

In 2013, David Loh of Reuters wrote: “Tan-awan, in the southern Philippines island of Cebu, used to be a sleepy village that never saw tourists unless they were lost or in transit. Yet now they flock there by the hundreds - to swim with whale sharks, the world's largest fish. Whale sharks are lured to the Tan-awan coastline of the Oslob district by fishermen who hand feed them small shrimp, drawing divers and snorkelers to see the highly sought-after animals, known as gentle giants of the sea. But the practice has sparked fierce debate on the internet and among biologists, who decry it as unnatural. [Source: David Loh, Reuters, March 12, 2103, March 13, 2013 /]

“'Some people are asking that we stop feeding, but if we stop feeding, what is our livelihood?' said Ramonito Lagahid, vice chairman of the Tan-awan Oslob Sea Warden and Fishermen Association (TOSWFA). 'We have to go back to fishing.' Lagahid says there have always been whale sharks in Tan-awan. He remembers seeing them even when he was young. 'They are always around when we go out at night to collect uyap,' he said, referring to a kind of small shrimp that the whale sharks are fed. 'Many times we have to stop fishing because the whale sharks are around.' /

“The whale shark 'interaction area' is the size of a soccer field, some 80 metres off the beach, and feeding takes place from 6am to 1pm. Eight to 10 whale sharks show up on average, but some mornings see as many as 20. Word about the whale sharks got out globally ago via Internet postings from witnesses, and tourists began flocking to the village both from the Philippines and around the world. Most days see several hundred, but 2012 numbers peaked with 1,642 on Good Friday in 2012. /

“Fees for foreign tourists range from 500 pesos ($12.29) to just watch the whale sharks, to 1,500 pesos - plus normal scuba diving charges - to dive with them. The money is pooled and each villager who works that day, as a guide or boat driver, receives 1,000 to 1,500 pesos - a good fee for the rural Philippines. The results are clear. Many new brick houses line the short stretch of road leading to the feeding beach. 'It is easier working in the whale shark area. I can earn a lot of money', said Aikie Lagahid, 23, Ramoncito's nephew and a fisherman who now works as a whale shark spotter and boatman. 'In the morning we take the guests out, and in the afternoon, we play basketball.' /

“Tourists are delighted as well. 'It (the whale shark) is really big, so it was really an experience,' said Cecilia Buguis, a Philippine tourist. 'I would definitely tell my friends about it. But not everybody is thrilled. Biologists, in particular, are afraid that the feeding will create long-term problems. It is very rare, according to Italy-based environmental group Physalus, to have so many whale sharks in such a small area so regularly. Feeding from a boat close to humans is also extremely unnatural. 'It looks like being in a zoo, a circus, looking at the animal walking up and down being fed. This is not a natural behaviour that you see,' said Alessandro Ponzo, the president of Physalus. 'The experience that you have ... is not the same as when you see them in the wild, in their natural environment. What you learn here is that wild life is (fine) to be exploited as a tourism attraction.' /

“Biologists fear that the situation could lead the whale sharks to develop abnormal social behaviours, such as increased aggression or competition between the animals. The close contact could also lead to the spread of disease and parasites. A Facebook page, 'Stop Whale Shark Feeding in Oslob, Cebu, Philippines,' says the feeding is an 'exploitation of both the fish and the people.' It has 881 likes. Animal rights groups say they understand the importance of tourism as a source of livelihood, but emphasize that it has to be done in a sustainable way in order to become a long-term possibility. /

“Physalus is evaluating the effects of tourism and feeding on the behaviour of whale sharks and hopes their research will help the local government manage whale shark tourism and minimize the environmental impact. 'You should stop the detrimental effect to the shark, but you should also improve the livelihood of the community as well,' said biologist Samantha Craven, the group's project coordinator in Oslob. 'Real eco-tourism is something entirely achievable.' /

Rare Irrawaddy Dolphins Found in Palawan

A new Philippine population of critically-endangered Irrawaddy dolphins was reported recently by WWF-Philippines. The WWF reported: “Spotted by chance off Quezon, Palawan in Western Philippines, this pod of rare marine mammals, locally called Lampasut, was observed displaying typical behavior, foraging for prey around lift net fish traps sitting approximately one kilometer offshore. WWF staff reported seeing at least 20 individuals in just one sighting. This is a relatively large sized pod for this uncommon species, where groups of fewer than six individuals are most common. Previous populations of these dolphins have been documented in Malampaya Sound, as well as off the island of Panay. The Quezon pod represents the fourth known group of Irrawaddy dolphins reported in the Philippines.[Source: WWF, panda.org, April 26, 2013]

The Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), is a euryhaline species of oceanic dolphin. With the ability to adapt to a wide range of salinities, this dolphin is found in discontinuous subpopulations near coasts and in estuaries and rivers in areas stretching from the Bay of Bengal to New Guinea and the Philippines.

Lightly colored all over, Irrawaddy dolphins are similar to the beluga in appearance. They have a blunt, rounded head, and an indistinct beak. Their dorsal fin is short, blunt and triangular. In the wild, they have been seen spitting out streams of water, a rather unique and peculiar behavior. Contrary to what some people believe, this animal is not a true river dolphin, but an oceanic dolphin that lives in brackish water near coasts, river mouths and in estuaries.

This species enjoys the highest level of international protection. All trade is forbidden, under international agreements. Some Irrawaddy dolphin populations are classified by the IUCN as critically endangered. This includes the Malampaya Sound sub-population in the Philippines. Irrawaddy dolphins in general however, are IUCN listed as a vulnerable species, which applies throughout their whole range.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, Philippines Tourism Office, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated August 2026