Homonhon Island Reef

Homonhon Island guards the entrance to Leyte Gulf and its outer reefs face the open Philippine Sea — one of the reasons they escaped the anchor damage and overfishing that degraded reefs closer to population centres. Hard coral coverage here is exceptional: tabletop Acropora colonies the size of dining tables, massive Porites heads over a century old, and dense stands of staghorn coral on the slopes. The reef crest drops into a wall at around 12 metres and the wall continues to 40-plus metres draped in black coral and enormous sea fans. Visibility frequently exceeds 30 metres.