Author: William Ihne

For those of you that missed my previous post, Swimming with Oarfish, a video I made earlier this summer, here it is again. This is my second Oarfish rescue encounter taking place this past May of 2024, on the very same beach where the video Oarfish Rescue was filmed just two years before, almost to the day.

Oarfish are truly amazing deep water filter feeders living in waters between 600-3000 feet deep. Why they get beached no one knows for sure, but in this video, Swimming with Oarfish, after observing the behavior of this fish, I take a shot at a hypothesis.

If you see a beached Oarfish, if it’s stilll alive and kicking, you can help it into the water. But do so carefully, because, although they can grow up to 36 feet, they are delicate creatures with sensitive skin and an easily breakable dorsal fin that they can’t swim without. Stay tuned, my next video post, How to Rescue an Oarfish, will provide tips on how to save an Oarfish without doing harm.

If you spot a beached Oarfish, note the time and location, please contact me. I’m launching the Oarfish Beaching Awareness Project to gather data on beached Oarfish around La Ventana Bay- reported by local residents. That way we can track the location, time and frequency of these beachings and learn a little more about this fish. 

If someone has a color printer and wouldn’t mind hanging a few posters about this project around town, please let me know. Thank you. Contact William at desertplayer@hotmail.com

In 2019, while snorkeling along the shoreline of La Ventana Bay, I encountered, the largest school of Machete (Ladyfish) I have ever seen. When the Machete swam passed, they were a great wall of fish. I wanted to capture them as that wall of fish; all going the same direction. Finally, after four mornings of chasing them around, I got the shot I was after. Here is that unedited footage to celebrate this amazing school of fish that once lived along the La Ventana Bay shoreline. Machete of La Ventana Bay!

Two things to report. One having to do with the return of the Moon Jellyfish, and the other, swimming with, Giant Manta Rays! This summer, we saw the return of the Moon Jellyfish to the La Ventana Bayshoreline. Last year, there were few, but last month, while snorkeling, had to navigate some tight clusters here and there, nothing like 2022! Here’s a video of the invasion of 2022: Moon Jelly Invasion! Here’s a short video close-up of cute little fish being housed safely within the bell of this Moon Jellyfish, filmed last month: Little Fish Inside the Jelly Bell!

Moon Jellyfish are colorful and relatively harmless. They have very short tentacles. Luckily, their stings aren’t too serious, more like rubbing up against nettles. Watching them swim is a beautiful sight! Below, see the signature four-leaf clover design, that makes them easy to identify.

Swimming with Giant Manta Rays! On August 27, I traveled with a guide (Omar) and four friends to swim with the Giant Manta Rays. We departed from El Sargento at 7am traveling a good distance. Seeing these creatures for the first time was truly amazing. They appear to swim in slow motion, so peaceful looking. Here, a short clip of the Mantas swimming if you are interested: Swimming with Giant Mantas!

There are 250 types of Damselfish in the world, and I have run into six while snorkeling that I will share. This includes a fish that I visited over a five-year period, a Giant Damselfish. This fish species has a well defined small territory, allowing you to visit one over time, as I have done. In this video, Damselfish of La Ventana Bay there’s repeated photos of this fish, each dated. There is also a scene showing close-ups of nesting behavior, and how they change shades of blue for purposes I can only guess are for reproduction, but don’t know fully. To learn more about the ecology of our bay shoreline, visit: Observing Baja Coral Reef Fish or contact me, William, at desertplayer@hotmail.com

Water Art III, a video by William Inhe. This video is a fusion of water surface shots with my best close-contact fish photography-captured using “set” cameras. This art conveys best how I feel about these amazing creatures we hardly know. The music ebbs and flows; seems to end, but goes on…the calming transitions are there for you to take a good, deep breath. Hope you enjoy it.

Note: Photos from this video and Observing Baja Coral Reef Fish YT channel, will be available at the silent auction at the No Más Basura Concert on Valentine’s Day. Feb 14. 5-10pm. William desertplayer@hotmail.com

Correction, the fish in a previously posted video entitled: “Stonefish,” is not a Stonefish! but is a Stone Scorpionfish, a completely different fish. I was alerted by retired Biology Professor from Northern Arizona University, Dr. Linn Montgomery.  Here’s the corrected video. Stone Scorpionfish Video.  See link in the video description to an article discussing differences between Stonefish and Scorpionfish. Contact William, for more info: desertplayer@hotmail.com

Here is a short clip of a pair of Crevalle Jacks that swam toward me, then turned when they saw me, and one made the vocalization that you hear in this video: Crevalle Jack Makes Vocalization. Crevalle Jacks are the fish that are crazily hammering the sardines in my Return of the Sardines video. They chased the sardines onto shore and left a trail of dead fish all along the El Sargento shoreline in 2021. William desertplayer@hotmail.com

Fish Sitters Not Swimmers – Here are three coral-reef fish that spend much of their day sitting, rather than swimming constantly like most other fish. These fish featured in this video are: Coral Hawkfish, Giant Hawkfish and Lizardfish. All three are predator fish. See video here. (William desertplayer@hotmail.com)

A video short, titled: Imagine You’re a Baitfish from an “Interesting Underwater Perspective” playlist on William’s Observing the Baja Coral Reef Fish Youtube channel, which provides fish identification resources for our precious, but struggling coral reefs, and reef fish communities in La Ventana Bay. Check out the video documenting the largest Sardine run along El Sargento beaches in 25 years, or learn about two amazing 8 ft. Oarfish that were rescued, and get to know a Male Hogfish photographed over 30-months period, or learn to spot extremely poisonous Stone Scorpionfish, or Stingrays buried in the sand. Visit the channel to learn about the amazing diversity of marine life that resides in beautiful La Ventana Bay. Contact William for more information at (William desertplayer@hotmail.com)

This summer 2023 water temperatures in La Ventana Bay have steadily remained above historical maximum levels. When coral is overheated, it expels photosynthesizing algae that produces food and energy so the coral can grow and remain healhty. Coral losing its algae then turns white. We are seeing a significant coral bleaching event happening still at the end of September 2023, and wont’ cease until temperatures drop below the coral bleaching threshold. William desertplayer@hotmail.com