Photo & Video sailfish in Mexico

In the company of
the sizzling Sailfish

By Amos Nachoum

My exceptional encounter with Sailfish underwater was the most unexpected event in a 40-year wildlife photography career. It was an “awe-full” experience, exceeding my wildest expectations - the images speak for themselves. During three days I found myself more than once speechless and helpless. I ran out of film after the first 15 minutes during many of the encounters, leaving me with 30 minutes or more to enjoy the phenomena...

January 19, Isla Mujeres - Mexico.... It was about 10:30 am when we went into the water, and in less than 30 second from when I rolled backward to the water from on board the high deck of the fishing vessel there were 20 to 30 sailfish buzzing all around and over the three of us, with such speed I thought I was in a video game, only better.

The next three days were full of mind bending underwater encounters...It was an experience in true 3D; visually - mesmerizing. Auditory - fascinating and pleasing. Kinesthetically - physically challenging. To keep up with the fleeing Sardines and the Sailfish who fast and gracefully chased Bait ball, we had to work hard. I was kicking like madman for 30 minutes at the time and some other times even longer. It was worth every once of effort I put into it. We kept close to the bait ball since this was the target the sailfish were after. Being close, I was rewarded with the sound created by movement in unison of hundreds of sardines and the sound of the spectacular rising of the tall and expensive sail on the back of the billfish, an act of frightening exhibition toward its prey, merely inches off my ear. Visually it was out of this realm; if you can imagine, as many as six Sailfish at a time filling up your lens and 50 sailfish or more passing in front of you like you’re not there. A mere few feet away you observe the sunlight piercing through the first ten feet of water, reflecting off the sailfish’s uniquely decorated shiny skin and streamlined body.

This exciting event, forever to be cherished, happened due to a special friendship with a unique and charismatic person, a world-class artist, educator, and adventurer, down to earth and funny - Mr. Guy Harvey.

Guy is one of the world’s leading experts on billfish. Guy’s background as a PHD in marine fisheries and his acclaimed skills as an illustrator, painter par excellence, photographer and TV producer have earned him his desired access to the world of sport fishing. In order to get close to and be in the company of billfish all around the world, Dr. Harvey has been walking the fine line between the world of sport fishing and environmentalism by educating the industry and participating in catch and release practices.

On board after one more exhilarating encounter Guy told me...”in these three days, after 20 years of being in the company of billfish all around the world - I learned today how a sailfish uses its bill as a tool to stun its prey to feed itself efficiently. This is remarkable in light of the speed and the elusive movements of the Brazilian Sardines.”

To locate hot fishing, our skipper keeps constant watch for Frigates birds bunched in a funnel-cloud formation close to the water. “Birds on Bonitos tend to move faster and jump from spot to spot, while frigates on sailfish usually push into the wind at steady pace” Said Anthony my trusted skipper.

Hapless sardine schools – some measuring as much as 75 feet (25 meter) in diameter – may have anywhere from six to 100 sailfish harassing them. Skipper who locates a bait ball must act quickly but avoid rushing headlong into the fray. We are on a ticking clock because this phenomenon of sailfish on the surface only last as long as the bait fish remain. The sails aren’t simply herding and holding the school; they are feeding and feasting on the sardines, so supply keep dwindling. YOU need to make your dive passes and put the people in the water in timely manner.

Once the Anthony establish the bait’s direction he circles ahead on the upwind side, he make calculation on the fly, letting the wind push his baits to the sailfish as the vessel slip by and get close to the bait ball (exactly opposite maneuvering to what Anthony does when he is hired for Bill fishing which is his expertise).

Anthony bring the boat close to the bait ball and only when the boat and the bait ball are drifting at the same direction, he put the vessel engine in neutral and give us the OK to leave the vessel as fast as possible because…Sardines see the hull as a form of shelter and will always make a run to hide beneath the vessel. For us diver and photographer that is a gift, however the action is very fluid and dynamic, as the sailfish pound the sardine very hard and bait ball keep moving and the sailfish in pursuit and so we are in a…catch us if you can ? kind of relationship.

During this time of the hunt and run, the hungry sailfish continue to annihilate the sardines. A large newly formed ball moves in a some-what predictable manner. As the sails keep picking away at the bait and the ball is a shrink, sailfish become a bit wilder. They move more quickly and erratically while darting around to snatch up remnants of the vanishing baitfish school. Finally they fire through to finish of the bait, and it’s all over” Said Anthony. “ We can either head off to search for more activity or camp out on the spot and wait for the sails to bring up more bait” and they do – which is another part of this fresh and amazing phenomenon.


We learn more out of these encounters. Back on board the boat and between dives Guy and I were exchanging thought and comparing notes. While seating on the edge of the vessel, cameras in our hands and scuba tanks on our back, sun over our head and we are dripping water – we were reflecting on what we just saw underwater and at the same time we both arrived to the realization - that beside Dolphins and Whales i.e. cetaceans no other aquatic animals do cooperative hunting, harassing and feeding but Billfish and sailfish is one in this unique family. That is very unusual as Billfish is not part of the cetaceans family and therefore that is very significant observation and it will require further investigation.

All that action was happening just ten feet under the surface. The continental shelf was below us at 90 - 100 feet deep and visibility ranged from 60 - 100 feet. For three days Guy Harvey, Guy’s trusted cinematographer Rick Westphal and I got going early each morning. It was so early that we boarded the vessel in darkness and we watched the sun rising an hour later while we were on the way to the encounter. This meant that we were the first to be on site. The site was ever changing. To locate the bait ball we watched the horizon for telltale signs of frigate birds and we raced toward the birds...

The sea was relatively calm, with waves of no more than 3 - 4 feet. Our trusted skipper, took us anywhere from 18 - 30 miles offshore. The water was quiet warm, about 80F. And for the curious person who has read so far...we had up to 30 sailfish around us every day, and on the third day at least 50! I stopped counting only so I could enjoy the sensation of being in the water weightless with this show in front of my eyes. Visibility was great in the morning up, to 100 feet, and was still at 60 by midday. Those of you who know me may not believe this, but I was speechless, out of film, delighted and exhausted. I also knew I was committed to return. You can see the results of my mind -bending experience in the list of images…

In the end Guy and I become aware of another phenomena – what we witness is likely the only cooperative hunting and feeding we can record among fish – versus what is well documented relationship in the world of Dolphins and among cetaceans. Indeed there is still what we can learn of being in the water and in only 20 feet zone below the surface.

I’m very thankful to have experienced this incredible opportunity. I decided to return mainly due to the dynamic personality of our skipper, he is professional and tireless skipper. It’s one thing to pinpoint the wildlife, but it is so much more when you have a skipper who will do whatever it takes to safely get us the encounter!

The BBC only discovered the sailfish feeding phenomena event last year. You can see it in March when the Discovery channel presents their “Planet Earth” program, a superb follow-up to the already acclaimed “Blue Planet” series. The window of opportunity to experience this phenomenon is only six weeks, and divers will be in competition with sport fishermen who are after trophy Sailfish for catch and release. The location is Isla Mujeres, which is only minutes away from Cancun, but a world apart. The island still provides a uniquely authentic Mexican village flavor and lifestyle. .

My next adventures trip to Isla Mujeres are scheduled for...

January 12 - 20, 2008 Maximum of four guests. $6,900 per person. 2 spaces open

January 20 - 28, 2008 Maximum of four guests. $6,900 per person. 2 spaces open

February 09 - 16, 2008 Maximum of four guests. $6,900 per person. Sold Out. Waiting list

For more information and reservation contact Amos Nachoum
sailfish@biganimals.com or 415 923 9865