who named it Mar Filipinas when he and his men were in the Mariana Islands prior to the exploration of the Philippines. Later it was discovered by other Spanish explorers from 1522 to 1565. Battle of the Philippine Sea A historic battle between the naval fleets of the United States and Japan took place in the vicinity of the Philippine Sea. This was called The Battle of the Philippine Sea, and occurred near the Mariana Islands from 19 to 20 June 1944. It was also the largest carrier-to-carrier battle in history which featured the United States Fifth Fleet and the 1st Mobile Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Aside from the navy, aerial activity was also present in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, as hundreds of aircraft from both countries fired at each other. The Americans indisputably won, and nicknamed the aerial war the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" due to the number of Japanese aircraft shot down. Japan struggled to recover from the severe damages of its imperial navy and air strength suffered from the battle. This heavily attributed to the victory of the United States in the Battle of the Philippine Sea which was a vital part of the Americans' reclamation of the Philippines, and the Mariana Islands from Japan. Post-World War II In 1989, the United States Department of Defense revealed the loss of a one-megaton nuclear bomb in the Philippine Sea during the 1965 Philippine Sea A-4 incident. Following an escalation of the Spratly Islands dispute in 2011, various Philippine government agencies started using the designation "West Philippine Sea" to refer to parts of the South China Sea. However, a PAGASA spokesperson said that the sea east of the Philippine archipelago will continue to be called the Philippine Sea. Economy Fisheries The Philippines depends on the Philippine Sea as one of the sources of its food, and for many people's livelihoods. In the Coral Triangle area, the Philippines harvests seaweeds, milkfish, shrimp, oyster, mussel, and live reef fish as aquaculture products. Fishermen catch many types of fish, including small pelagic, anchovy, sardine, mackerel, and tuna, among others. Recent scientific expeditions have found that the Benham Rise (also known as the Philippine Rise) in the Philippine Sea has a diverse marine ecosystem that attracts migratory commercial fish like tuna, marlin and mackerel. The Benham Rise is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from Aurora, Quezon and Bicol.