Near the eastern coast of Luzon, Philippines, located 50 meters below the sea surface, is the Benham Bank, an underwater seamount taller than Mt. Apo. Benham Bank contains one of the richest mesophotic (or deep) coral ecosystems in the Philippines. One would not expect biodiversity to thrive here, considering the eastern coast of the Philippines is the most affected by typhoons, but a paper published in Coral Reefs last April titled “Benthic structuring of the mesophotic coral ecosystem on the Benham Bank seamount in the Philippines” reports that the Benham Bank is pristine and full of potential.

Benham Bank: One of PH’s richest deep coral ecosystems. (2025, June 23). Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. C3.