Diving in Sumilon Island In Oslob, Cebu is back! Last 27 October a beach clean up was held. It was a beautiful and sunny day when Bluewater Sumilon Island Resort together with its partners officially opened the event. The Philippine Coast Guard, PNP, Oslob LGU, Bluewater staff and volunteers helped in this event.
The haul for the beach cleanup that day: as much as around 400 kg of garbage. These were both from the littoral and underwater areas with a small percentage of it in plastic usually adrift from other places. Beach cleanup in the municipality is a weekly event every Wednesday and a bigger cleanup is done every quarter.
Sumilon Island Sanctuary
I love this place and diving in Sumilon Island is one of the recommended activities here. The stunning sand bar is one of the most visit places when traveling here. But its the pristine waters of Sumilon that is its crowning jewel. The area is part of the Sumilon Island Sanctuary. Established in 1974 and covering 39 hectares, it is the first ever marine reserve in the Philippines. It has a mangrove forest, seagrass bed and as of July 2021, has 86% hard coral cover home to various reef fish species.
This year, together with the Southeast Cebu Coastal Resource Management Council (SCCRMC), they won first place in the best locally managed marine protected area (MPA) and the Most Outstanding MPA network during the 2021 Para El Mar MPA Awards. The competition is held annually and recognizes the best MPAs in the country.
