Basura

A documented Anilao collection locality

Gosliner’s 2011 taxonomic paper explicitly identifies Basura with the old Seafari Resort site in Anilao, Mabini. It records specimens collected there in March 1994 at 3 m, including the type material of the sea slug named Philinopsis ctenophoraphaga in that publication.

What that record establishes

This is dated scientific evidence for the named locality and historical animal occurrence. It does not establish the full depth range of today’s dive route or the likelihood of seeing that animal now. The 1994 record also means the earlier guide’s claim that the site was discovered in the early 2000s should not be presented as established history.

Details still needed

Current access, route boundaries, conditions and recent wildlife observations remain incompletely documented here. This partial guide does not infer seasonal seagrass cover, reliable encounter frequencies or present-day conditions from an old specimen record. Confirm the intended Basura locality with the operator when arranging a visit.

How operators describe the site today

Anilao Diving and Resorts' page on Basura, last modified in June 2023, gives a sloped 3 to 18 m profile about sixteen minutes by banca boat north of its resort by the San Jose area, with a sandy and loose rubble bottom, visibility of 10 m plus, no current and great night diving. It calls the site a good choice for macro photographers and lists mimic octopus, sea horse, small frog fish, harlequin shrimp, bobbit worm, pipe fish, crocodile snake eel, commensal shrimp, ghost pipe fish, rare nudibranchs and small cuttlefish and squid as creatures of the area, and says the best season is summer, when there is grass under water, while many sea urchins call for care in the rainy season. Aqua-Venture's dive-site table, in a Wayback snapshot of January 2026, lists Basura at 20 m with slight current, an igloo cement formation as the attraction and macro lenses. Pacific Blue's Japanese-language site list, in a Wayback snapshot of May 2026 of a page last modified in July 2020, lists Basura twice, at 1 to 25 m and at 2 to 30 m, calls it a long-standing Anilao macro site, says it was once covered in mud by a typhoon with heavy damage to its creatures and has since recovered, and mentions coral planting, small artificial reefs and the option of beach entry by road.

Travel writers and forum reports

Dive The World's Anilao page, retrieved in October 2026, calls Basura "a.k.a. Muck & Macro", notes that Basura means garbage in Spanish and says the debris on the shallow underwater slope attracts critters such as frogfish, seahorses and rare nudibranchs. A 7641 Islands article of February 2022 says the site was named for the rubbish that had previously found its way there, that it is now clean and protected by the local community, and recommends visiting during summer. A ScubaBoard post of September 2009 recommends Basura for a 90-minute macro dive, better at night, and a September 2010 post in another thread recommends it with Secret Bay and the Anilao pier for macrophotography. Two underwaterphotography.com listings, Basura-Anilao and Basura Beach, Anilao, both give a typical depth of 0 to 10 m but differ on typical visibility, one saying 3 to 10 m and the other 10 to 30 m.

Survey record

REEF's report for its survey site Basura (Anilao town), retrieved in October 2026, counts four surveys and 176 species reported; fish recorded on every one of those surveys include the Ambon damsel, blackspot damsel, blackspotted puffer and canary wrasse. These counts and the operator depth figures come from different years and methods and stay attributed to their sources.