See Photos of the Turtles of Apo Island Up Close

A snorkeler drifts over the shallow part of the coral reef in Apo Island. Below her is the wonderland she expected: Colorful hard and soft corals, a massive barrel sponge, and a multitude of gaudily patterned coral reef fishes. Most of the reef fishes are small or very small, few outsize the length of the forearm of our snorkeler. But then, from behind a large coral structure, emerges a giant, almost the size of our snorkeler.

Capturing a turtle looking for something to eat in the coral reefs of Apo Island

Photo by Klaus Stiefel.

The giant has almost a dinosaur-like look to it, though turtles are in fact much older than dinosaurs in evolution, and are only very vaguely related to them. The turtle is unbothered by human presence and settles down on the reef to graze on the algae growing on the rocks between the corals. The animal exudes a curious mix of elegance, when swimming, and clumsiness, when tearing off algae with its beak while perched on the reef.

This scene can happen in many places in the Philippines; however Apo Island in Negros Oriental is the country’s most famous turtle-watching spot. Apo is home to green turtles, and the critically endangered hawksbill turtles. It’s relatively easy to tell them apart: the green turtles have one set of paired scales between the beak and the central, unpaired scale in the center of their heads. Hawksbill turtles have two of these paired scales. The hawksbill turtles also have a very striking pointy beak, almost like the eponymous hawk.

Both species of turtles in Apo Island are quite accustomed to snorkelers and scuba divers if one acts somewhat considerately: avoid flailing around, don’t approach the turtle from above and of course don’t touch them. If you act like a good guest to their home reef, you’ll sometimes even be able to observe them while feeding.

The hawksbill turtles generally feed on reef invertebrates like sponges and soft corals, while the green turtles prefer seagrass and algae. Because turtles have a slow metabolism and small brains (this is not meant as an insult of my freediving friends who also achieve long breath-holds!) they can hold their breaths for extensive amounts of time. Only very occasionally do they surface and re-fill their lungs with a breath of fresh air. I have filmed hawksbill turtles in Apo Island for 20 continuous minutes without them taking a breath, and I had to end my filming when eventually my scuba tank was getting too low on air, after countless breaths by myself.

Close-up shot of a green turtle

Photo by Klaus Stiefel.

The hawksbill turtle can be easily identified through its striking pointy beak, similar to the actual hawk

Photo by Klaus Stiefel.

The patient observer of Apo Island’s turtles will notice that many of them don’t roam the reef alone; medium sized, elongated fish are attached to the turtles. These are sharksuckers, belonging to the family of the remoras, and they hitch rides by sticking to sharks, large rays, or turtles. A suction disc which is a modified fin keeps the sharksuckers attached to the turtles. Some of the marine reptiles even share their day with a pair of these odd fish.

Like almost all reptiles, turtles lay eggs, and they must return to land to do so. One of the beaches of Apo is a known turtle nesting area. In turtles (like in crocodiles) the temperature of the egg during incubation determines the sex of the young animal. Temperatures above 31°C cause all the baby turtles to end up as females. With climate change, it’s not clear what will happen to the sex ratio of these marine reptiles should temperatures increase even more, and how that will influence the populations of marine turtles.

Detail of the shell of a green turtle

Photo by Klaus Stiefel.

Shark suckers hitching a ride on the backs of turtles

Photo by Klaus Stiefel.

Once the young turtles hatch, they very quickly crawl back into the ocean, and remain there for the rest of their lives if they are males, and only return to lay eggs if they are females. The first few years of the lives of a small turtle are spent in the open ocean. In years of scuba diving in Apo I have never seen a single animal smaller than about 40 centimeters. Before they reach this size, they stay away from coral reefs and the countless hungry fish which inhabit them. Only large predators like tiger sharks feed on adult turtles, but these are (sadly) very rare these days.

No article about Apo Island is complete without the mention of Professor Angel C. Alcala (1923-2023), the pioneer of Philippine marine science & conservation, and a Philippine national scientist. Prof. Alcala established a marine protected area (MPA) in Apo in 1982, only the second one in the Philippines at that time. The Apo MPA was established in close collaboration with the people of Apo, and this community involvement made sure the island’s coastline is partially protected to this day. A stretch on the eastern side of Apo is now an MPA/no-take marine reserve, where both fishing and scuba diving are outlawed. Along the remainder of Apo’s coastline, fishing is only allowed for the residents of the island, which significantly reduces the fishing pressure. An intact marine ecosystem is a good home for turtles.

A turtle feeding

Photo by Klaus Stiefel.

Capturing a turtle mid-lunch

Photo by Klaus Stiefel.

Marine turtles are protected everywhere in the Philippines; it is illegal to catch and barbecue them, as well as to harass them (Republic Act 9147, Wildlife Protection Act). Boat collisions, entanglement in discarded or lost fishing nets (“ghost nets”) and death as accidental bycatch nevertheless decimate the populations of these charismatic animals. There are still reports of poaching turtles and collecting their eggs in some of the more remote areas of the Philippines, but the practice is seemingly on the way out, and certainly nothing like that happens in Apo – another case of how ecotourism can motivate environmental protection.

A memorial plaque for Prof. Alcala established in Apo Island in November 2023

Photo by Klaus Stiefel.

Tourism Tip

Apo Island is a barangay of Dauin, on mainland Negros Island. You can reach it via public boat from Malatapay south of Dauin and stay on the island overnight. Liberty’s and Coco Grove are the two big resorts on Apo, and a number of homestays provide budget accommodation.

Extreme close-up of our turtle friend

Photo by Klaus Stiefel.

Alternatively, all dive resorts in Dauin organize day trips to Apo, to either snorkel or to scuba dive. The bangka ride takes about an hour, with a chance of seeing dolphins and flying fish when the ocean is flat. The island has dive sites for beginners and advanced divers, such as the drift dive at “coconut” which can only be described as “awesome.” The area in front of the village is excellent for snorkeling, and a spot with many turtles. Make sure to bring some cash since souvenir-T-shirt-selling island ladies will board your bangka and offer their stylish Apo-souvenir shirts, often with turtles in their designs.

Watch more videos of the marine reptiles here: