Diving comparison to other places
"In my experience, the difference between diving Apo Island and diving other popular areas in the Philippines is night and day. My first dive here after a week's diving further north I was in shock. Small and large fish were literally everywhere; add huge turtles, beautiful 'small stuff' and the density of healthy hard and soft coral cover - the effects of 20 years of marine sanctuary status are unmistakable. Apo has more fish and healthier coral than the near-Cairns dive sites I visited via liveaboard on the Great Barrier Reef. The visibility here is also crystal clear compared to other reef and open water diving I did in the Philippines.

APO as a model for other places
Apo's model of conservation, community-based reef protection and sustainable development should be copied throughout the Philippines. This must be what all Philippines diving was like before destructive fishing practices and pollution took their toll."
- Natasha Smith, Toronto ON