Trip Report Tubbataha Fish Survey

[klausi]

I had the opportunity to participate in the survey of reef fishes in Tubbataha on invitation of the Tubbataha Management Office. We were on the last trip of the season, in late June. There was some rain, but generally the diving conditions were excellent, even though this is considered late for Tubbataha.

We dived with Infiniti liveaboard, which is an excellent operation (and I don't dish out praise like that easily), impressing with smoothly organized and safety-conscious diving operations.

A few things really stood out on the reef: I had never seen oceanic triggerfish breed. They build nests by crushing a significant area, a few m2, of coral. Gladly they are not as aggressive as Titan triggerfish. Here is a video:


This second video shows an overview over many of the fishes we observed. There is a focus on smaller species. I found several gobies new to me. Also, we had the chance to dive in the lagoon of the north atoll (off-limits for tourists). The ecosystem there was very intact, with a healthy coral cover and interesting fishes (including Napoleon wrasses) but the viz was murky, as expected (also in the video).

I saw not a single sea urchin, likely due to competition with the many herbivorous fishes (surgeonfish).


Best Fishes,

Klaus

 

[Dan]

Thanks for posting this survey & trip report @klausi

I’ll be in Tubbataha next June on Infiniti too. So your post is quite timely & educational.

Did you see Manta there?

I was on Infiniti in last December & January going around Visayas sea. It’s a nice boat with excellent crews.

Cheers
Dan

 

[klausi]

Thanks for posting this survey & trip report @klausi

I’ll be in Tubbataha next June on Infiniti too. So your post is quite timely & educational.

Did you see Manta there?

I was on Infiniti in last December & January going around Visayas sea. It’s a nice boat with excellent crews.

Cheers
Dan

No mantas or whale sharks, other dive groups saw hammerhead and tiger sharks, though. Lots of reef sharks on every dive, as well.

 

[tursiops]

Tubbataha was one of he best trips I've taken. Awesome diving.

 

[afdgf]

I had the opportunity to participate in the survey of reef fishes in Tubbataha on invitation of the Tubbataha Management Office. We were on the last trip of the season, in late June. There was some rain, but generally the diving conditions were excellent, even though this is considered late for Tubbataha.

We dived with Infiniti liveaboard, which is an excellent operation (and I don't dish out praise like that easily), impressing with smoothly organized and safety-conscious diving operations.

A few things really stood out on the reef: I had never seen oceanic triggerfish breed. They build nests by crushing a significant area, a few m2, of coral. Gladly they are not as aggressive as Titan triggerfish. Here is a video:


This second video shows an overview over many of the fishes we observed. There is a focus on smaller species. I found several gobies new to me. Also, we had the chance to dive in the lagoon of the north atoll (off-limits for tourists). The ecosystem there was very intact, with a healthy coral cover and interesting fishes (including Napoleon wrasses) but the viz was murky, as expected (also in the video).

I saw not a single sea urchin, likely due to competition with the many herbivorous fishes (surgeonfish).


Best Fishes,

Klaus

Were you using the REEF long form when you did your survey and did you enter your data in their database? Or did you do something else?

 

[klausi]

Were you using the REEF long form when you did your survey and did you enter your data in their database? Or did you do something else?

Apologies for the delayed reply, crazy busy times...

No, we simply noted every species we saw. I have been looking at small fishes for a very long time.
This was by invite of the marine park authority, we passed the data on to them.

 

[afdgf]

Apologies for the delayed reply, crazy busy times...

No, we simply noted every species we saw. I have been looking at small fishes for a very long time.
This was by invite of the marine park authority, we passed the data on to them.

We just got back from a REEF trip to Atlantis Dumaguete. It was amazing how many species there were in such small habitats.

 

[klausi]

Agreed. I used to live very close to Atlantis for a while, even the spot in front of them on its own is amazing.

We just got back from a REEF trip to Atlantis Dumaguete. It was amazing how many species there were in such small habitats.