Monday 20 June 2011

Do Not Mess With Fish 133,

and you thought fish were fun! the sardines at the front of this picture do not think so as they are being chased by an Atlantic sailfish, (Istiophorus platypterus), this and other photographs were taken in Isla Mujeres, Mexico, by German photographer Reinhard Dirscherl, not the easiest task to under take as the sailfish is one of the fastest fish in the world, reaching speeds of up to 68 m.p.h. Whilst I have SCUBA dived many times in the past, one of the many fish I have not seen under water is a sailfish, but back in the 1980's I did see a group of three just below the surface on a trip to the coral islands here in Pattaya, but of course the Pacific species (I. albicans), although thought to be the same species some scientists believe that the Atlantic and Pacific sailfishes are separate, in any event it must have been the thrill of a lifetime for Reinhard to capture these images for us to see.

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