Planning a trip?
Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Tubbataha Reefs location page.
Overview
Reef plateau on the North Atoll where whitetip and grey reef sharks rest on the sand. Drift the wall and stop on top to watch the sharks come and go. Visibility consistently >30 m in season.
Briefing note
Park is open mid-March to mid-June only — strict seasonal window.
What you'll see
4 species curated- year-roundWhite-tip reef shark
- year-roundGrey reef shark
- year-roundSchooling jacks
- year-roundHawksbill turtle
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- high confidenceReef shark
- Last confirmed
- May 2026
- Recent records
- 88 within 25 km
- Cluster months
- Mar, Apr, May, Jun
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27–29 °C | 10–20 m | moderate |
| Feb | 27–29 °C | 10–20 m | moderate |
| Mar | 28–30 °C | 25–40 m | moderate |
| Apr | 28–30 °C | 30–40 m | moderate |
| May | 28–30 °C | 30–40 m | moderate |
| Jun | 28–30 °C | 25–35 m | moderate |
| Jul | 27–29 °C | 10–20 m | strong |
| Aug | 27–29 °C | 10–20 m | strong |
| Sep | 27–29 °C | 10–20 m | strong |
| Oct | 27–29 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Nov | 27–29 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Dec | 27–29 °C | 10–20 m | moderate |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- SMB + reel — Drift exits over deep water — required by all operators.
Next step
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Hotels, liveaboards, dive operators, gear recommendations, and travel logistics for the whole region.
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