18 Jan, 2010

Aggressive kingfish form a hunting pack at Stringer Reef in the waters of Sodwana Bay. Cameraman Grant Brokensha watches as they harass a school of small glassies.

A very overcast morning turned into a beautiful day as the sun burned off the clouds left behind after the last cold front. We headed out to a shallow reef where a lot of breeding and nesting was taking place.

As I descended onto the reef I came across a resident potato bass (Epinephelus tukula). I noticed that its belly looked particularly full, perhaps because of a recent meal. This potato bass is always very comfortable in our presence and I suspect it is attracted by the look of its reflection in the port.

Further along the reef, I came across a crag where many glassies, juvenile barracuda and cardinals were sheltering. It was quite mesmerising to watch these small fish moving and dancing in the swell. I also noticed a hunting pack of bluefin kingfish (Caranx melampygus) that I had seen here on a previous occasion.

The kingfish aggressively patrolled the edges of the reef while the glassies dived and moved together in a synchronized pattern in order to confuse their attackers. The speed with which the kingfish attacked their prey was really impressive, as was the speed with which the bait fish rallied and evaded capture. The glassies had little time to let their guard down as every few minutes the attacking kingfish would return in search of another meal.

I spent a long time observing this great chase and marvelling at the agility of these amazing fish.

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