Alcatraz Reef

Alcatraz Reef is a source-named dive site in the Coron area of Palawan. Operator descriptions identify a reef around a small rocky island near Siete Pecados in the channel between Busuanga and Coron Island. It is listed separately from Siete Pecados and The Pinocle; exact underwater boundaries remain unconfirmed.

Position disputed: the Scubago/SSI point used here is about 850 m from PADI’s Alcatraz point. It is not known which point best represents the intended dive. Neither point has been averaged or moved. Local operators use the names Alcatraz Rock and Alcatraz Reef; this guide preserves that named dive without treating the two map points as separate sites. The source point has not been surveyed or verified by a local diver for this guide and is not a confirmed entry or navigation waypoint.

This partial guide keeps unconfirmed details explicit. Current access, entry arrangements, depth limits, currents, visibility and seasonal conditions remain unknown here. Confirm the intended location and a suitable dive plan with a local operator.

Reports from four listings

PADI's Alcatraz page, built from a Neptune Dive Center contribution, describes a lone rocky island in the channel between Busuanga and Coron Island near the Siete Picados Marine Park. Because of the channel position it says tidal currents can be strong and visibility is variable, while large schools of fish are often seen passing in an almost never-ending procession; it also calls the site a good place to hunt for small critters such as nudibranchs, and lists a 30 m maximum depth with boat or shore entry. Rocksteady Dive Center's site list, under the name Alcatraz Rock, places the reef close to the Pinocle and Siete Picados, gives 25 m, and says parts of the reef were damaged by dynamite fishing years ago while the main part remains healthy; it names angelfish, snappers, anemonefish, batfish, cuttlefish, turtles, blue-spotted stingrays and nudibranchs among life seen there. Pirates Diving Center lists Alcatraz Reef at 5 to 30 m for Open Water Divers, describing hard and soft corals, overhangs and small caves, schooling reef fish, nudibranchs and occasional larger pelagics such as barracuda and trevally. Scubago's listing, illustrated with French Kiss Divers Coron photographs, gives a 20 m maximum for Alcatraz Rock and repeats PADI's lone-rocky-island sentence.

Depth figures disagree

Maximum depths of 20 m (Scubago), 25 m (Rocksteady) and 30 m (PADI and Pirates) appear across these pages. They are not reconciled here, and none states where on the reef it was measured. Scubago's description shares wording with PADI, so those two are treated as one lineage for the location statement.

Reading the current and wildlife notes

PADI's note on strong tidal currents is a general warning tied to the channel position, not a forecast for a given day, and Rocksteady's remark on past dynamite damage is undated. The species lists are the operators' summaries of what has been seen, not encounter rates, and this guide makes no promise of particular sightings.