10,000 Bonefish Spawning. Whoa.

Ok, prepare to drop your jaw. The Bonefish and Tarpon Trust published a video today that was posted yesterday to YouTube (embedded below). The video shows 10,000 or more bonefish in a rarely observed spawning behhavior. The YouTube video caption identifies:

“During a recent expedition to The Bahamas, Dr. Andy Danylchuk (UMass Amherst), Dr. Aaron Adams (Bonefish & Tarpon Trust/Florida Institute of Technology), Dr. Jon Shenker (Florida Institute of Technology), and Zack Jud (Florida International University) reconfirmed that bonefish form massive spawning aggregations at very specific locations during specific lunar days. Using manual tracking and depth sensors, they also documented that bonefish use depths of greater than 160 feet (50 m) when spawning, after which they return quickly to shallow water. Collectively, this work will help identify sites throughout The Bahamas and elsewhere in Florida and the Caribbean where bonefish spawn and that need protection from habitat disturbance and overfishing.”

The Bonefish and Tarpon Trust reports that

“The scientists found that, starting in mid-afternoon, the school swirled like a tornado in water 30 feet deep. These fish, which normally live on the bottom, started rushing to the surface to gulp air. Bumping against each other in a pre-spawning behavior, the fish tried to avoid the sharks, barracuda and Cubera snappers stalking the school. As night fell, fish in the school quickened their pace and headed for the drop-off at the edge of the reef, where water depths exceed 1,000 feet.”

Just watch. While scientifically amazing, this is also just pure bonefish porn–as certified by Sean “Dr. Bonefish” Morey: