Isla Mujeres is situated in the northern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, only a twenty-minute ferry ride from Cancun. Despite its proximity to this bustling tourist hub, the sea surrounding the island is famous for its abundant wildlife, which includes sailfish, whale sharks, and manta rays. Possibly the most exciting of all are the the huge schools of sailfish that arrive each winter chasing shoals of sardines. From January through March, winter storms in the northern Gulf of Mexico drive nutrient-rich waters south over the shallow continental shelf that stretches off the coast of the northern Yucatan. Massive shoals of sardines follow the currents, and in turn, schools of sailfish follow the sardines, creating the perfect conditions for an epic bait ball. Our mission was to capture images of amazing interactions with sailfish and giant manta rays. Each day we battled raging seas, high winds, and elusive wildlife as we charged across open seas in search of the action.
Sailfish, with their razor sharp bills, are some of the fastest fish in the ocean. Working in unison, they drive the sardines up from below toward the surface. While a regiment of sailfish guards the perimeter to maintain the tightly packed sardine ball, other sailfish swim below to prevent the sardines from diving to the safety of the large shoal below. Taking turns, the sailfish throw up their sails, flashing brilliant colors down the length of their bodies, then race through the ball of sardines, striking the terrified sardines with their razor sharp bills. Scales fly, and one by one the sardines are snatched up.Roberta fearlessly threw herself into the midst of all this action, ducking and dodging as sailfish raced all around her in pursuit of fleeing sardines. Many times I cringed as a sailfish would strike a sardine just inches from her body. Over the course of 10 days of hard work, we managed to dive through swarms of hunting sailfish and swim with five meter manta rays as they glided through schools of sardines.
