On November 8, 2013, Typhoon Haiyan caused widespread destruction in the Philippines.
The eye of this super typhoon passed right over Malapascua Island.
There were no casualties but the material destruction was huge, leaving many people without a house
or a job.
Six months later, Malapascua has recovered well.
The island received a tremendous amount of support, mainly from the dive industry.
Only months after the typhoon, most houses have been repaired or rebuilt from the ground
up.
Malapascua is famous among divers because of nearby Moan at Shoal, a submerged seamount
which attracts pelagic treasure sharks on a daily basis.
The sharks come here to get cleaned at the numerous cleaning stations.
Luckily, these were spared by the typhoon.
This shark-related tourism has been Malapascua's biggest help in the road to recovery.
Even though treasure sharks can be word way more alive than dead, they are still being
targeted by fisheries in the Philippines and often fall victim to unsustainable fishing
methods.
Although Moan at Shoal is a protected area, illegal fishing still happens all the time.
The dive shops on the island have hired two locals to patrol the area on most nights.
The most important area here is to protect our treasures, the treasures we need to protect
them as soon as we can because it's one of our specials here in Malapascua who gave
us the name and the tourists who visit this fish are the people after the typhoon of Yolanda.
Alvin and Oscar have sent many illegal fishing vessels away but say some don't listen and
still use dynamite long lines in gillnets at his marine reserve.
This tourism has proven to be more profitable and sustainable than shark fisheries.
Malapascua is a perfect example of this.
These sharks are too important to both local economies and our oceans to be left unprotected.
