Poblacion Muck

Poblacion is a shore-entry muck site directly in front of Dauin town proper, where the volcanic black sand slopes gradually from knee depth to around 22 metres and concentrates a rotating cast of rare critters that keeps macro photographers returning dive after dive. Frogfish in improbable colour morphs — bright pink, algae-covered, pure white — wedge themselves among coral rubble, while mimic octopus emerge from burrows and cycle through their repertoire of flounder, lionfish, and banded sea snake imitations. Ghost pipefish in ornate and robust forms drift alongside crinoids in the 12 to 18 metre range, and tiger mantis shrimp patrol the open sand between rubble patches. Night dives here produce a completely different cast, with Spanish dancer nudibranchs, hunting cone snails, and sleeping parrotfish wrapped in mucus cocoons.