It is part of the Verde Island Passage and its entire shore is in the province of Batangas.

It is separated from the South China Sea to the west by the Calatagan Peninsula, which has Cape Santiago as its southern point.

Together with the Tagalog suffix “-an”, Balayan thus means "a group of houses" or "settlement".

[2] The following municipalities line the bay from west to east: Calatagan, Balayan, Calaca, Lemery, Taal, San Luis, Bauan, and Mabini.

In particular, sardine, anchovy, and round scad stocks were declining as a result of overfishing.