MASBANGO

Masbango and the Crevalle Jack - The Chase:

Bonaire is a small island in the South Caribbean and its waters are visited by schools of big-eye scad, or as the locals call it “Masbango”, few times a year. This is an exciting time for fishermen as well as divers. While it is a traditional food source for Bonairean people, divers prefer not to see them in nets. The school of fish, also referred to as "bait ball", is a wonderful sight to behold as a dark cloud of fish descends upon you. This cloud is often dispersed by its own set of predator fish, mostly jacks, sometimes barracuda.

The first time I came upon a bait ball I was not aware of it at all. As usual I was head down taking the photo of a juvenile fish that was waaay in the crevice of a coral head. I was at about 70ft and totally concentrated at my wonderful find and how to capture a good macro shot. I started feeling the presence of something behind me as well as a darkness that descended… It seemed like a good idea to turn around and see what is behind me. Lo and behold, there was a massive and dense school of fish right behind me that extended from the reef to the deep blue!!! I was ecstatic. I spent all the rest of my time capturing the Masbango and the Crevalle Jack that lunged at it frequently dispersing the crowd. I was in heaven. It was just me and this gigantic school of fish and the Crevalle jack for what seemed like a very short time though it was at least 40min.

You can find the photo series for this experience here and the Masbango video here.

In this photo series a crevalle jack hunts for its meal. As the jack dashes into the bait ball, the fish scurry away in an amazingly uniform fashion, creating a hole in the middle of the bait ball. The jack makes several passes and then takes off. The little specks of dark below the bait ball seen in some of the photos are the poop of the fish.