South Sulu Sea

Sulu sea

• The Sulu Sea is a large sea located in the southwestern area of the Philippines. It is separated by Palawan from the South China Sea in the northwest, and by the Sulu Archipelago from the Celebes Sea in the southeast. To the southwest is Borneo and to the northeast is Visayas.

Sulu sea

Sulu sea

Sulu sea

• About 490 miles (790 km) from north to south and 375 miles east to west, with a surface area of 100,000 square miles (260,000 square km), it fills a downfaulted block, in some places almost 18,400 feet (5,600 metres) deep, the edges of which are seen in the bordering islands.

• Sulu Sea is one of the richest fishing grounds in the Philippines. The country shares control over this extensive marine environment with Indonesia and Malaysia. It has an area of about 900,000 kms. and boasts of over 1,800 species of fish, 400 species of algae and over 450 types of coral.

• Beneath the deep and vast Sulu Sea is an oceanic ridge trending parallel to Palawan and the Sulu Archipelago. From these ridges rise some of the world's greatest geologic formations of oceanic atolls and platform reefs.

oceanic atolls

• The reefs feature gradually sloping underwater terrain to spectacular vertical walls that drop to thousand meters deep. Its average depth is 4,450 meters (14,600 feet).

• They offer outcrops of corals and splendid aggregations of giant pelagics such as tunas, barracudas, jacks, lapu-lapu (grouper), sharks, mantas, and turtles.

tunas

barracudas

grouper

jackssharks

Manta ray

• Reef associated fishes such as snappers,butterfly fishes, damsels, angel fishes, and garden eels never cross your path unnoticed due to their sheer number.

snappers butterfly fishesdamsels

angel fishes garden eels

• Marine life is abundant and overwhelming in Tubbataha Reef.

• It would seem that the fish around here all live to a ripe old age as they seem far larger than in other parts of the country. Their sizes are matched by the wide spans of giant sea fans and giant sponges. It is easy to lapse into superlatives when describing the underwater scene around here.

giant sea fansgiant sponges

• The climate in the Sulu Sea area is influenced by the monsoon seasons that prevail over the country. These are the southwest monsoon from June to October and northeast monsoon from December to June.

• Due to Sulu Sea's geographical location, the diving season is from March to early June. These months coincide with the summer season. Thus, the sea surface is calm, the temperature is comfortable at 28 to 30 C and water visibility of 30 meters is not unusual. Strong tidal currents may occasionally be present, bringing with it schools of large pelagics.

• Besides the spectacular underwater sceneries, Sulu Sea's atolls and sand cays also offer interesting sights and opportunities for bird photography since the islands are rookeries to hundreds of sea birds -- red-footed boobies, terns and frigates.

red-footed boobies

terns

frigates

• In spite of all these bountiful natural beauty, the scars of decades of destructive dynamite and cyanide fishing is evidenced in many places. The ongoing education of area fishermen and policing of area waters by the government are helping to repair the damage, and its hopeful that mother nature will respond well enough and heal itself in due time.

• Although fishing in its waters is still a necessary source of food for the country, eco-tourism is gaining tremendous popularity each year and brings needed income without the negative impact on its marine life.

Productivity:Sulu Sea• Surface currents in the Sulu Sea come from the south in the

summer. Winter currents follow a counterclockwise gyre. In the Celebes Sea, strong currents, deep sea trench topography, seamounts and active volcanic islands result in a complex oceanography.

• The tropical climate, warm clear waters of the Celebes Sea, active underwater volcanoes, seamounts, trenches, corals and inter-island passages, currents and upwellings, help make this an exceptionally rich area with great marine biodiversity. There are 1,800 species of fish, 400 species of algae, 5 species of sea turtles, 22 species of marine mammals and over 450 types of coral. There are orcas, whales, sharks, dolphins, manta rays and pelagic species such as tuna and marlin. In the Sulu Sea, Apo Reef and Tubbataha Reef have been shown to be at the center of a system of currents distributing fish and lobster larvae throughout the area.

seamounts currents and upwellings

, trenches

underwater volcanoes

Islands in the Sulu Sea

• Sulu Sea surrounded by the number of islands. The Cuyo Islands and Cagayan Sulu are part of the region of Palawan while Mapun and the Turtle Islands are part of the region of Tawi-Tawi. The Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park, one of the World Heritage Sites is located at Sulu Sea.

Islands in the Sulu Sea

Islands in the Sulu Sea

Islands in the Sulu Sea

Tubbataha Reef

• The word tubbataha is a combination of two Samal words: tubba and taha, which together means "a long reef exposed at low tide".

• Tubbataha Reef is an atoll coral reef located in the Sulu Sea of the Philippines. It is a marine sanctuary protected as Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park. It is nominated at the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

Geology and geographyTubbataha Reef

• Tubbataha is located in the Sulu Sea, 98 nautical miles (181 km) southeast of Puerto Princesa City in the Palawan Province. The reef is made up of two coral atolls divided by an eight-kilometer (5 miles) wide channel.

Thank u