In January 2012 Scubazoo senior cameraman Simon Enderby arrived on the East coast of Mexico. He was there to shoot HD footage of sailfish, which gather in large numbers to hunt schools of sardines.

40 miles offshore he found over 50 sailfish, each over five foot long, chasing, corralling and consuming a tightly packed ball of several hundred sardines at the sea’s surface. A flock of frigate birds also joined in the harassment from the air. Over the course of an hour the Sailfish (one of the fastest fish in the sea) and the ball of sardines moved rapidly around the area with Simon repeatedly jumping into the craziness, filming the sailfish attack, until a handful of traumatised, shattered and bewildered sardines were left. Bereft of energy they took refuge around Simon and his camera in an ultimately fruitless effort to avoid the inevitable. Each sardine was plucked one-by-one from the shrinking school by the sailfish and birds above until all that was left was a glittering shower of sardine fish scales in the blue sunlit waters.

An amazing demonstration of power and agility by one of the most majestic fish in our oceans.