The Visayan Sea is a sea in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

surrounded by the islands of the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...

. It is bounded by the islands

Masbate Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate ( Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; tl, Lalawigan ng Masbate), is an island province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provincial capital is Masbate C ...

to the north, Panay to the west,

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

to the east, and

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...

and Negros to the south. The sea is connected to several bodies of water: the

Sibuyan Sea The Sibuyan Sea is a small sea in the Philippines that separates the Visayas from the northern Philippine island of Luzon. It is bounded by the island of Panay to the south, Mindoro to the west, Masbate to the east, and to the north Marinduque ...

to the northwest via the Jintotolo Channel, the Samar Sea to the northeast, the

Guimaras Strait Guimaras Strait is a strait in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, connecting the Visayan Sea with the Panay Gulf and Sulu Sea beyond. To the north and west are Panay and Guimaras Islands, while Negros Island is to the south and eas ...

to the southwest which leads to the

Panay Gulf Panay Gulf is an extension of the Sulu Sea, reaching between the islands of Panay and Negros in the Philippines. The gulf contains the island-province of Guimaras and extends into the Iloilo Strait, between Panay and Guimaras, and into Guimaras ...

, the

Tañon Strait The Tañon Strait ( fil, Kipot ng Tañon) is a body of water, separating the islands of Negros and Cebu in the Visayas, Philippines. The strait, which is about long, connects the Visayan Sea in the north to the Bohol Sea in the south. Its widt ...

to the south, and the

Camotes Sea The Camotes Sea is a small sea within the Philippine archipelago, situated between the Central Visayan and the Eastern Visayan regions. It separates Cebu from Leyte hence is bordered by Cebu to the west, Leyte to the east and north, and Bohol ...

to the southeast. The largest island within this sea is

Bantayan Island Bantayan Island is an island located in the Visayan Sea, Philippines. It is situated to the west of the northern end of Cebu (island), Cebu island, across the Tañon Strait. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of . The island is ...

of Cebu province. The sea is a major fishing ground for sardines, mackerel, and herring the Philippines. In 2020, the Western Visayas accounts for 20 percent of sardines total production in the Philippines. The sea covers an area of roughly with 22 municipalities along its coastline. A closed season is imposed annually from November 15 to March 15 in portions of the sea through Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) 167 since 1989.

References

External links

Geography of the Visayas Seas of the Philippines {{Philippines-geo-stub