Philippines
Verde Island lies in the current-swept Verde Island Passage between Luzon and Mindoro and is recognized as sitting at the center of the world's marine shorefish biodiversity.
Administratively part of Batangas City, Luzon, Verde Island has been a dive and tourism destination since a resort opened there in 1999. A 2005 scientific assessment found the surrounding Verde Island Passage to hold the highest known concentration of marine shorefish species on Earth, with over 300 coral species recorded in the wider passage. Diving here is characterized by current-swept coral walls and drop-offs, distinct from the muck-diving focus of nearby Anilao.