Pelagic fish
Bali sardinella
Sardinella lemuru
A small schooling sardinella, heavily fished across Indonesia and the Philippines and assessed by the IUCN as Near Threatened in 2022. It is the species usually identified behind the resident 'sardine run' aggregations at Napaling Point on Panglao and at Panagsama Beach in Moalboal, Cebu, though the exact species composition of those schools has not been formally surveyed at either site. The schools are resident rather than migratory, and shift in size and location from year to year.
- Max size
- ~23 cm
- Habitat
- Coastal pelagic waters of the eastern Indian and western Pacific Ocean. Forms dense schools over reef drop-offs and open water, often from the surface to about 20m.
Best places to dive with Bali sardinella
| Month | Likelihood |
|---|---|
| January | commonly seen |
| February | commonly seen |
| March | commonly seen |
| April | commonly seen |
| May | commonly seen |
| June | commonly seen |
| July | commonly seen |
| August | commonly seen |
| September | commonly seen |
| October | commonly seen |
| November | commonly seen |
| December | commonly seen |
The Napaling school is present most of the year and sits shallow enough to snorkel, but it moves along the reef and breaks into smaller groups on some days. Operators do not treat it as seasonal. Not the same aggregation as the Moalboal baitball, which is a separate resident school of the same species roughly 100km away in Cebu.
Sources & last checked
Checked August 2026
This is a researched draft, not yet human-verified. The seasonality and logistics are drawn from the sources below — confirm specifics (permits, fees, closures) with an operator before you book.
- Sardinella lemuru — Wikipedia
- Napaling Reef in Panglao, Bohol — Freedive Academy Philippines
- The Sardine Run of Bohol — Sierra Madre Divers