Apo Reef Light of gallery. The light station on Apo Reef was part of the first approved group of lighthouses in the Maritime Lighting Plan of Spain for the Philippine Archipelago during the Spanish Colonial Period. It was proposed to erect a steel tower with a third-order light on Bajo Apo Island. In 1896, the tower and the lighting apparatus were already purchased complete by the Spanish authorities from France, and they were delivered and stored at the warehouse in Manila. All lighthouse constructions though, were halted with the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution and then the Spanish–American War. When the Americans took
Apo Island species of coral can be found here, from tiny bubble corals to huge gorgonian sea fans and brain corals. Visitors and tourists pay a fee to enter Apo Island and to snorkel or dive in the marine sanctuary there. These fees are used to keep the sanctuary clean and in good condition. In 2003, Chicago's Shedd Aquarium opened a Wild Reef exhibit based on Apo Island's surrounding reef and marine sanctuary. In 2008, Sport Diver Magazine listed Apo Island as one of the top 100 diving spots in the world. As of 2017, the fish sanctuary, at the southeastern part