[1] The bay forms the natural boundary separating the Zamboanga Peninsula from the rest of the island of Mindanao.

[2] Important cities and municipalities on its coast are Ozamiz and Tangub in Misamis Occidental, and Tubod, the capital of Lanao del Norte.

[9] In the 1750s, the Fuerte de la Concepcion y del Triunfo in the town of Misamis, (now the modern city of Ozamiz) was built by the Spanish to guard the entrance to Panguil Bay.

[3] The bay was once a rich fishing ground, with the most abundant species being the gray mullet (Mugil cephalus), anchovy (Stolephorus commersonnii) and oil sardine (Sardinella longiceps).

[8][11] Further degradation resulted from destruction of natural habitats (such as mangroves turned into fishponds), pollution by poisonous chemicals, and increasing human development along the bay's shore.