Coron & Calamianes Islands
February 2024 - Field Notes
Expedition Overview
Expedition: Our Beloved Seas with Dr Richard and Wendy
Vessel: Atlantis Azores
Duration: Two back-to-back 10-night charters
Departure Base: Puerto Galera (meeting point: Manila)
Trip Highlights
The Coral Triangle Experience
Exploring the Philippines as one of the six Coral Triangle countries showcased biodiversity that truly is second to none. This expedition focused on less frequently visited areas, offering a unique perspective on the archipelago's incredible marine life.
Trip 1 (February 3-13): Romblon & Coron Adventure
Standout Destinations:
Romblon - The exciting new kid on the block for Asian muck diving! Ordinarily very difficult to reach, the liveaboard made this incredible location accessible
Coron Islands - A treasure trove of newly discovered micro-endemics, including species yet to be officially named
Trip 2 (February 14-24): Apo Island, Anilao & Coron
Featured Locations:
Apo Island - A mini, rarely dived remote reef with Tubbataha-like qualities perfect for pelagic encounters and unusual species sightings
Anilao - The Philippines' other premier muck diving destination, delivering an array of incredible animals
Coron Islands - Return visit to continue exploring the endemic species wonderland
Scientific Discovery Focus
Coron's Endemic Treasures
The Coron Islands proved to be a hotspot for scientific discovery, featuring:
Three of the four Indo-Pacific damselfish species that brood their young
Multiple new and yet-to-be-named species
Countless micro-endemic species found nowhere else on Earth
Educational Component
Marine Life Talks by Dr. Richard Smith The scientific presentations were a trip highlight, with guests noting how the talks made every subsequent dive an exciting hunt for newly learned species. The combination of entertainment and education enhanced the entire diving experience.
The Azores Experience
The vessel continues to set new standards for liveaboard diving in the Philippines and Asia, providing the perfect platform for exploring some of the world's best diving locations that are only accessible by liveaboard.
Trip Impact
This expedition successfully combined the thrill of exploration with scientific discovery, taking divers to remote locations and introducing them to species and ecosystems they'd never encounter on typical diving itineraries. The focus on "diving deeper" into the Philippines delivered exactly that - a profound connection to the country's incredible marine biodiversity.
Exciting sightings
Bountiful Coron, Philippines and many regional endemic species:
Sparkfin Dottyback (Manonichthys scintilla) - Richard found this species just south of Coron and managed to capture the first ever living images of the species. It was described in 2011 but this is such a rarely dived area that it had remained unphotographed until now.
Black-barred Dottyback (Labracinus atrofasciatus) - Wendy managed to find and capture the first eve live images of this extremely elusive dottyback that is the Loch Ness holy grail of dottybacks!
All three described brooding damselfishes: Guardian Damselfish (Altrichthys curatus), Azure Damselfish (Altrichthys azurelineatus), Alelia’s Damselfish (Altrichthys alelia) - the latter being described as recently as 2017.
Eichler’s Dottyback (Pseudochromis eichleri) - described in 2012.
Twin Fangblenny (Meiacanthus geminatus) and its mimic Yellowbelly cardinalfish (Cheilopterus zonatus)
The massive regional endemic foot-long Dendritic jawfish (Opisthognathus dendriticus) shocked us all!
Ghost pipefishes including velvet and halimeda.
Read Richard’s trip report in Sport Diver magazine here
