Sailfish

Istiophorus platypterus

Description:

The Sailfish - Istiophorus platypterus is the fastest fish in the world, clocking up to 110 km/hour. They get their name from their spectacular dorsal fin that stretches almost the whole length of their body. They can grow up to 3.5 meters length. This was another dream come true encounter for me, have only seen them breaching before from Boats and I wanted to swim with them, especially with them hunting among Baitballs. On our second day during our Pelagic Expedition in Baja, Mexico, we saw a big group of Striped Marlins hunting among bait balls and when my buddy and I got into the water, I was surprised to see the Sailfishes too and made additional efforts to at least get some footage of it and this was the only decent picture I managed to take of the Sailfish. Was very happy with this bonus encounter as we were not expecting to see them on this trip.

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10 Comments

AlbertKang 6 years ago

Thanks, @Felix :)

Felix Fleck 6 years ago

Great spotting! Congrats.

AlbertKang 6 years ago

Thanks, @Daniele for the SOTD :)

DanielePralong 6 years ago

Congratulations Albert, this spectacular sailfish is our Spotting of the Day!

"Marvel at the fantastic streamlined silhouette of this Indo-Pacific sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus), our Spotting of the Day! This fish owes its name to its massive first dorsal fin, and is an extremely fast swimmer, capable of reaching a burst speed of up to 110km/h".

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AlbertKang 6 years ago

Thanks, @Muckpuk.
Yes, partly lucky but mostly down to serious planning for a trip with the main goal to seek out the Striped Marlins hunting among bait balls. The Sailfish was a bonus :D