Nov 14-Fish Story

The first indication that something unusual was happening in the bay was the number of pelicans close to shore. 

On any given day there are a few pelicans that congregate along the south shore of the bay.   Occasionally a school of fish will venture too close to shore and the resident pelicans put on an aerial display topped only by the Canadian Armed Forces Snowbirds.   These amazing birds use everything at there disposal to zero in on their unsuspecting prey.    Wind currents, direction of the sun, wave frequency are all factored instantly into the equation, as the pelican ascends, floats motionless on outstretched wings, then he dives straight downward hitting the water full force, and securing a fish in his large bill pouch.    He bobbs back to the surface almost instantly, and a wiggle of his tail feathers signals a successful mission.   The pelican then lifts it bill straight up in the air and with a couple of shakes swallows his supper whole.

Anyway, this afternoon while walking along the beach I noticed an unusual number of pelicans activitly feeding close to shore.  

Unusual number of pelicans near shore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This group was four or five times larger than the regular group of pelicans in the bay.   As I watched them they appeared to be engaged in a feeding frenzy.   The frequency of their sorties was muy rapido, they were closer to shore than I had seen them previously, diving into the frothy foam of breaking waves.   Unfolding in front of me was an unbelievable fish story.   Jumping out of the water, ahead of the incoming waves were hundreds of small, silvery fish.   

Small fish leaping ahead of incoming waves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As each wave rose to a crest, before breaking, it became almost transparent, and I was able to see what was causing the small fish to come to shore so rapidly.   They were being chased by larger fish.  The action was fast and fierce with the larger fish moving with lightning speed, among the schools of smaller fish.   As the smaller fish got caught up in the backwash of the waves that had already made it to shore they were being picked off by the pelicans.    As I stood engrossed in what I was witnessing, this same scenario was repeated over and over.    I surveyed the deserted beach and thought to myself, where were the Mexican fishermen with their throw nets.   What an ideal time for them to fill their nets. 

The following morning, at 6.00AM I hurriedly walked to the beach to see if the fish were still performing.  I was greeted by a carnival atmosphere.    Normally, at this hour the beach would be deserted, however today was different.   The beach was full of Mexican net fishermen, their families, friends, and dogs.   The supporters were yelling encouragement and directions to the fishermen who waded shoulder deep into the surf.   Sometimes buried under large waves, the fisherman courageously hurled their nets out to sea.    After waiting a couple of minutes for the weighted nets to settle on bottom they gathered them up in a hand over hand fashion and came to shore to check the contents.   Wide smiles broke on the faces of the fishermen as they spotted the struggling silver victims trapped in their nets.    Proudly, they would run up on shore so as not to lose any of their catch.   Excited chatter circulated among their supporters as they removed the fish placing them in plastic 5 gallon pails or sacks.   I thought to myself, who needs a fiesta when you have fishing like this.

Fisherman running to shore with his catch.

Fisherman and friend removing fish from net.

I asked the fisherman in this photo what the name of the fish was, and he replied “Lisa”.   He said they had a better taste than Sardinas.   I later learned through research that the fish is officially known as a Liseta Mullet, or Mugil setosus.  It is a very rare member of the Mugiladae Family.   Globally there are 75 species of the Mugiladae Family, 7 of these are found in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.  The Liseta Mullet is a rare species and thus not well known or studied. It is smaller than other mullets, reaching a maximum length of 12 inches. The Liseta Mullet is found in shallow coastal waters over rocky structures.

In Mexican waters it is found only around the extreme tip of Baja California, along the coast of the mainland south of Acapulco, and around the Revillagigedos Islands.   So, based on it’s normal habitat,  this sighting was somewhat unusual. 

Photo of Liseta Mullet

I asked a Mexican lady, who lives near the beach, if this was an unusual occurrence.   She told me that the arrival of the Liset Mullet announces the change to cooler water temperature, and better fishing conditions.

So this explained the carnival atmosphere, the excitement amongst the Mexican fisherman and onlookers.

For a community that depends in large part on the sea providing food ,and revenue. I now could understand what all the commotion was about.

The day Liseta Mullet came to Lo de Marcos.