Black Rock
A sloping plateau leading onto a wall, with whitetip and grey reef sharks, possibly hammerheads and tigers, plenty of green and hawksbill turtles and a manta cleaning station. Spanish mackerel, bluefin trevally and barracuda are likely.
Facts
- Region: Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park – Philippines
- Area: South Atoll
- Depth: 5–40 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: moderate
- Type: wall, reef, drift
- Coordinates: 8.9533, 119.8675 (approximate)
- Highlights: whitetip sharks, grey reef shark, hammerhead shark, tiger shark, manta ray, green turtle, hawksbill turtle, Spanish mackerel, barracuda
- Permit: Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park can only be entered with a TMO permit: the vessel needs a Vessel Entry Permit and every visitor a Visitor Entry Permit, paid before entry. Per the TMO permits page (checked 2026-10-27): Visitor Entry Permit PHP 5,000 per person, divemasters PHP 500, children 12 and under exempt from the conservation fee; vessel permit PHP 5,500 to 11,000 by gross tonnage. In practice the liveaboard applies for the permits and collects the fee on board: Master Liveaboards and Atlantis quote USD 120 per person (fee changes without notice). Guests complete a Visitor Entry Permit form and attend a mandatory TMO briefing in Puerto Princesa before sailing. Drones need a separate permit.
- Issuer / contact: Tubbataha Management Office (TMO), Manalo Extension, Puerto Princesa, Palawan
- Phone: (048) 716-1631; mobile +63 917 553 0909
- Email: tmo@tubbatahareefs.org
- Unverified: Exact dive-site positions are not published by the sources; the coordinates are only the approximate centre of the park (Wikipedia: 8°57′12″N 119°52′3″E). Sources disagree on which atoll a few sites belong to; Dive the World was used here.
- Tips: Sources disagree on which atoll a few sites belong to; Dive the World was used here. Operators require Advanced Open Water and at least 50 logged dives with current experience; a dive computer is compulsory and dives are limited to 60 minutes. Dive guides call the conditions; hooks and a surface marker are standard.