Apo Reef marine park opened for tourists to help generate funds for its protection as well as provide an alternative livelihood for hundreds of fishermen in the area. All people accessing Apo Reef need to pay an environmental fee. Apo Reef Apo Reef is a coral reef system in the Philippines situated on the western waters of Occidental Mindoro province in the Mindoro Strait. Encompassing , it is by no means the world's second-largest contiguous coral reef system, but is the largest in the country. The reef and its surrounding waters are protected areas in the country administered as the Apo Reef
Apo Reef protection and conservation work at the park, stays in the protected area on weekly shifts. The largest is Apo Island at with mangroves and beach vegetation. The reef surrounding the island extends to in places. Outside the lagoonal mangroves in the eastern and southern sides of Apo Island, the soil is sandy-to-sandy loam that is less in silt and clay particles. On the other hand, the lagoonal mangroves have a sandy loam to clay loam soil, underlain by decomposed plant residues or coarse materials. Apo Island is separated from Apo Reef by a narrow, deep channel. The island is about