Will I see a bigeye thresher here?

Almost certainly not, and no operator should tell you otherwise. Malapascua's near-perfect thresher sighting record refers to pelagic threshers. Bigeyes are occasional, unpredictable and usually a single deep pass.

Is this still a Monad Shoal dive?

Mostly not. The threshers moved off Monad Shoal in September 2022 and took up residence on Kimud Shoal, closer to the Leyte coast, which is where the dawn dives now go. Monad is still dived and still produces devil rays and occasional threshers.

What do I need for the dawn dive?

Advanced Open Water and ideally nitrox, because the dive sits at 25–30 m and you will likely repeat it on consecutive mornings. Beyond that: buoyancy steady enough to hold depth on a wall in the dark, and the discipline to stay behind the line with your torch off.

Malapascua Island, northern Cebu

Where to see bigeye thresher sharks in the Philippines

There is no reliable bigeye thresher dive anywhere in the world, and Malapascua is the closest thing to a chance. The shoals off the island are the one place threshers are dependably seen, but the animals there are pelagic threshers — bigeyes turn up occasionally, at the deep edge, usually as a single pass at first light. Book this dive for the pelagic threshers and treat a bigeye as a rare bonus.

Best time: No real season; the dry months give the best conditions on the shoals

Low confidence verified 2026-07-26

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When to go

No real season; the dry months give the best conditions on the shoals

Threshers are resident on the shoals year-round, so there is no thresher season to catch and no evidence of a bigeye one either. What varies is conditions: the dry months from about November to May give calmer crossings and better visibility on an exposed shoal, and the July-to-October wet season brings the wind and swell that cancel dawn boats. Water sits around 27–29°C.

Best dive sites for bigeye thresher sharks in the Philippines

Kimud Shoal

Now the main thresher site: the sharks left Monad Shoal over a few weeks in September 2022 and settled on this smaller shoal, which has walls and better coral cover. Dawn dives sit on the rim at around 25–30 m and wait.
Monad Shoal

The historic site, a sunken plateau with cleaning stations at roughly 25 m that made Malapascua famous. Still dived, and still holds devil rays and the occasional thresher, but no longer the reliable bet it was.

How to see them

This is a pre-dawn boat, in the water by around 05:30, sitting behind a rope line on the rim of the shoal in low light while the sharks come in to be cleaned. Advanced Open Water and nitrox are the norm for the depth and the repeated early dives, and buoyancy has to be good enough to hold a fixed depth on a wall without a reference. The etiquette is strict and it is the reason there is anything to see: stay behind the line, no torches, no flash, no descending after a shark. Give yourself several mornings, and ask the guides directly whether any bigeyes have been logged recently.

What an encounter is like

Pelagic threshers, if the dive works — a handful of passes at 20 to 30 metres, the long tail scything behind them. A bigeye is a different animal and you will know it if you get one: much larger eyes set high on the head, deep grooves running back above the gills, and a bulkier body. Expect not to see one. Expect also that some mornings produce nothing at all: this is an unbaited, wild cleaning-station dive, and blanks are part of it.

Frequently asked questions

Will I see a bigeye thresher here?: Almost certainly not, and no operator should tell you otherwise. Malapascua's near-perfect thresher sighting record refers to pelagic threshers. Bigeyes are occasional, unpredictable and usually a single deep pass.
Is this still a Monad Shoal dive?: Mostly not. The threshers moved off Monad Shoal in September 2022 and took up residence on Kimud Shoal, closer to the Leyte coast, which is where the dawn dives now go. Monad is still dived and still produces devil rays and occasional threshers.
What do I need for the dawn dive?: Advanced Open Water and ideally nitrox, because the dive sits at 25–30 m and you will likely repeat it on consecutive mornings. Beyond that: buoyancy steady enough to hold depth on a wall in the dark, and the discipline to stay behind the line with your torch off.

Sources

Thresher Sharks at Kimud Shoal, Malapascua — Malapascua Diving
The Thresher Sharks of Malapascua — Evolution Diving Resort
Malapascua — Divers Alert Network, Alert Diver
Thresher Shark Diving, Monad Shoal — Sea Explorers