Monad Shoal Near Malapascua Is a Sunken Island
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Monad Shoal near Malapascua is a sunken island at 18-24m whose sides drop off to 230m. The thresher sharks live and hunt in this deep water for most of the day, but in the early morning, before it gets too light, they come up to the Shoal, attracted by its cleaning stations. Here they have a symbiotic (mutually beneficial) relationship with the small fish called cleaning wrasse which eat dead skin and bacteria from the sharks body, its gills, and even inside its mouth. Because the cleaning benefits these huge animals, the sharks would never think of eating the wrasse as an early morning snack. The cleaning stations are like a carwash for fish!
The Thresher Shark Divers team has tried to find the best time to dive with thresher sharks by extensive trial and error and a lot of experimentation. Our divemasters and instructors collect daily information on shark sightings and we record these details. So far, we have found that the best time to dive with the sharks is anywhere between sunrise and 9am. During this time period you have a good chance of seeing a shark, but as with most diving there is also an element of luck.
There are all kinds of superstitions as to what will help you see a shark. One of these is that the first boat at the dive site will get the best sightings. We have found this to be false.
To minimize diver impact on the site and to maximize every divers chance of seeing a shark, the Dive Shop Association of Malapascua, spearheaded by TSD, has recently decided on a protocol for diving with the sharks that will be followed by everyone. Each dive shop has a daily schedule and the time we dive changes each day – either 5am, 5.30am, 6am or 6.30am. This means there are less divers on the site at any one time. Since its inception in April 2008 shark sightings have increased dramatically for everyone.
If any of our customers wish to go at a later time this can also be arranged.