A world-class scuba diving destination due to its proximity to the Verde Island Passage, the municipality of Mabini in Batangas province boasts of waters teeming with marine life.
A world-class scuba diving destination due to its proximity to the Verde Island Passage, the municipality of Mabini in Batangas province boasts of waters teeming with marine life. Hard and soft corals, colorful schools of fish, nudis or sea slugs, and lots of Instagrammable underwater inhabitants have been recorded and documented in Mabini over the years.
To further enhance its reputation as a world-class scuba diving site, a group of diving enthusiasts—Anilao Underwater Shoot Fest, and the municipality of Mabini—have organized the Mabini Shoot Fest.“The Anilao Underwater Shoot Fest aims to immortalize the beauty our waters have to offer, both in film and photography. This is hopefully an annual event that will attract more tourists to our town, create more jobs and opportunities for the diving community,” said the organizers of the event.A three-hour drive from Manila, Anilao is renowned for its rich marine biodiversity, making it a premier destination for divers and marine enthusiasts.Even earlier, Anilao has been famous not only for divers but also for various recreational activities, including water sports because of its crystal-clear waters and beaches.Anilao is considered the birthplace of scuba diving in the Philippines, because of its calm waters, making it a popular choice for local and foreign divers. It boasts of some of the best dive spots in the world. There is “Twin-Rocks,” a great site for macro and wide-angle underwater photography for spots teeming with soft corals, schools of jacks, small fish and jawfish. But if one loves a little adventure and thrill, “Beatrice” is the perfect diving spot. It has strong currents, a profusion of swarming anthias, and is suitable for wide-angle shots. “Kirby’s Rock,” meanwhile, is known for its beautiful wall of marine life, and a good number of macro photography subjects.Its proximity to the Verde Island Passage , declared by scientists as the center of the center of shorefish diversity in the world, makes Anilao rich with marine biodiversity. It boasts of vibrant coral reefs with a wide variety of hard and soft corals that provide habitat and food for numerous marine species. Ivan Manzanares, one of the organizers of the Shoot Fest, told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview on January 28 that Anilao is teeming with wildlife—including corals because it is the recipient of coral recruits being swept by the tide from Verde Island Passage. “The corals from are swept and deposited in Anilao, that is why it is also rich in coral species,” he explained partly in Filipino.Famous for its macro marine life, Anilao continues to attract underwater photographers. Nudibranchs, seahorses, pipefish, and various species of shrimp and crabs have been recorded in these parts. Green sea and hawksbill turtles are also common, along with different species of rays, such as the spotted eagle ray and the blue-spotted stingray. The area is also rich in invertebrates, including octopuses, squids, and a variety of mollusks and echinoderms like starfish and sea urchins. The organizers of the Anilao Underwater Shoot Fest say that because of its rich biodiversity and awesome selection of marine life, it is incumbent upon them to preserve and promote Anilao, in particular, and Mabini waters, in general. This is while protecting and conserving the area’s natural beauty and treasure through information, education, and communication in the form of photography and short films.Tourism in Anilao suffered during the pandemic. Despite the lifting of the community lockdowns in 2021, tourism in many areas in the country has yet to fully recover, including Anilao, Manzanares said. Manzanares told the BusinessMirror that besides showcasing the rich marine biodiversity of Mabini, they want to document the rarest species in Anilao and to promote tourism and scuba diving in the area. “This is precisely the reason why we organized the shoot fest,” Manzanares, a scuba diver himself, said partly in Filipino. He said projects, such as coral propagation, is common in Mabini and nearby areas to further enhance the health of the coastal and marine ecosystem in Batangas province, and help the community benefit from tourism. “Of course, we will use the photos and the short films through social media to promote Anilao and lure more tourists to come to Anilao,” he said.Danny Ocampo, a scuba diver and an acclaimed underwater photographer, for his part, told the BusinessMirror that Anilao faces numerous challenges. “ well-meaning projects that are not properly planned and not guided by science, or even participation of or coordination with the concerned authorities and stakeholders,” he said on January 29 via Messenger. Another challenge, he said, is the uncontrolled buildup in the uplands and shoreline leading to siltation and destruction of coastal areas and ecosystems. He added the indiscriminate anchoring, but thanked the Mabini local government and a student, Kenzo, and his Buoyanihan Project, for installing new mooring buoys. Ocampo noted that the latest Supreme Court decision that would eventually allow commercial fishing in municipal waters is a new threat to coastal and marine ecosystems, including that of Anilao and the entire town of Mabini. The Anilao Underwater Shoot Fest categories include Macro, Nudi, Fish, Black Water/Bonfire, and a Special Category for Short Film. Judging the competition are Ram Yoro, a scuba instructor, tech diver, and multi-published underwater photographer; Mike Bartick, a published, award-winning photographer, writer, international speaker, and photography pro at Crystal Blue Resort; and Ocampo. The criteria for judging are: 50 percent—composition, sharpness, and exposure; 30 percent—originality of the beautiful underwater image;10 percent—art; and 10 percent—behavior or the subjects’ undisturbed natural behavior and natural habitat.All images and videos should be taken during the competition within the Mabini area only. A special date was assigned for the participants upon registration. Sixty entries have been submitted for judging and the winners for each of the categories was set to be announced on February 1.Jonathan L. Mayuga is a journalist for more than 15 years. He is a product of the University of the East – Manila. An awardee of the J. G. Burgos Biotech Journalism Awards, BrightLeaf Agricultural Journalism Awards, Binhi Agricultural Journalism Awards, and Sarihay Environmental Journalism Awards.By checking this box, you confirm that you have read and are agreeing to our terms of use regarding the storage of the data submitted through this form.February 2, 2025
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