Oarfish Rescue Video Series & Beaching Awareness Project

What’s an Oarfish you may ask? Here’s what they look like.

Oarfish are rare deep-water filter feeders that live at depths of 600-3000ft. and grow as long as 36-feet. Sometimes, they get beached along the shoreline. I’ve had two encounters where I swam each fish out to sea, as documented in Oarfish Rescue (Spanish: Recate de un pez remo) and Swimming with Oarfish (Spanish: Nadando con los peces remo). In both, the behavior of this fish is on full display as it responds to and navigates a shallow water environment. Very little is known about this fish, but by observing their behavior in these videos, we learn more about them, and can attempt to answer the most common, basic question at the center of the great mystery surrounding this interesting, one-of-a-kind fish; “Why do Oarfish get stranded on our beaches?”

A third video How to Rescue an Oarfish (Spanish: Cómo recatar un pez remo) instructs how to save an Oarfish without harming it, drawing on experience, using footage from two rescues, introducing how/where to report an Oarfish beaching. At the end, see photos of a beaching that took place 21-years ago in El Sargento when a 14.5 foot Oarfish landed on the very same beach where the aforementioned videos were filmed. 

Oarfish videos in Spanish:

Here’s the link to a playlist of all videos in English and Spanish: Entire Playlist-Oarfish Rescue Series – English and Spanish.

Here are two poster links in Spanish and English announcing “The Oarfish Beaching Awareness Project” whose goal it is assist those who want to help beached Oarfish, and to provide information on how/where to report stranded Oarfish. This data will help us determine the location and frequency of Oarfish beachings, and help us learn more about this amazing fish. 

We received our first 2025 Oarfish beaching report,  when a stranded Oarfish died along La Ventana Bay. See the report below. A thank you to Bruce Watts  for taking the photo!

It is my hope that the learning we do together will somehow benefit this unique and special deep-water fish.

Thank you, William Ihne  – Oarfish Beaching Awareness Project Coordinator.

To report a beaching: 52 612 204 5156 WhatsApp, desertplayer@hotmail.com

Coral Bleaching Event – One Year Later

I’ve observed/documented the coral reefs and fish communities along La Ventana Bay shoreline since 2016, logging 1021 snorkels, sharing videos to inform, pay tribute and express gratitude. Many feel similarly about the coral reefs, hoping they will remain healthy and continue to support marine life. 

My latest video, “A Coral Bleaching Event- One year later,” shares the extent of coral bleaching recovery in La Ventana Bay since the bleaching event of 2023. Watch, “A Coral Bleaching Report” video to learn about the degree of bleaching that occurred that summer.

What caused coral to bleach? Water temperatures peaked above the bleaching threshold for two-straight months. While the coral recovered, for the most part, our precious reefs are still at risk; facing all the stressors that unprotected coral reefs face around the world, especially those adjacent to rapidly developing communities. 

The coral reefs in La Ventana Bay are one of the furthest north reefs in North America and are very unique due to this range among other important reasons to ensure the protection of these reefs.

2023 delivered a significant bleaching event impacting coral reefs in La Ventana Bay.

Coral provides habitat for 25% of the world’s fish, supports a level of biodiversity comparable to the Amazon Rainforest. I set a camera near coral, not a wide-angle but one with a very narrow field of view, in ten minutes 25 fish species were recorded. We are gifted to be able to witness such diverse communities of marine life, and the coral is essential to that. As they say, lose the coral, lose the biodiversity, the same with clear cutting rainforests.Visit Observing Baja Coral Reef Fish to learn more about the fish and coral reef habitat in La Ventana Bay. To track water temperature fluctuations, visit Aqualink

This spring, I plan to lead a few coral reef tours. If interested, let me know, and I’ll alert you of the dates. Thanks. William Ihne, Naturalist, videographer, writer, producer Contact: desertplayer@hotmail.com

Swimming with Oarfish

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

Man who originally wrestled with the big fish swims out after retrieving his goggles to see what’s going on. 


Machete of La Ventana Bay!

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!

August with Moon Jellyfish and Mantas

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!

Damselfish of La Ventana Bay

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

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

Starfish

I know almost nothing about starfish, except that the starfish in La Ventana Bay are truly beautiful, interesting creatures to observe especially using time lapse photography.  They are very diverse in color and design. This video is meant to highlight just that. Click here to see my video on local starfish. William’s Starfish Video. I have placed a couple of links in the video description if you’d like to learn more about them. For more information on local reef ecology, Contact William desertplayer@hotmail.com

Stone Scorpionfish

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