Sardine Schools in Montezuma

Many schools of sardines are present in the waters of the Montezuma beaches and Tortuga Islands. Sardines are small fish with high oil content, usually bright silver in color. On an individual basis, they move with efficient speed and fluidity which makes them very hard to catch by the dangerous predators of the ocean. Sardines in Montezuma and other places almost always move in the form of schools. The surprising part about this is that the schools can move with amazing speed and efficiency. Unlike other schools of fish in the seas and oceans, sardines are light and move very quickly. The entire school of sardines move turn and change directions with lightening quick movements of their bodies. It is said that the schools of sardines present in Montezuma can sometimes comprise of more mass than a blue whale! If faced by a threat, the school of sardines can pivot and almost instantly change direction and torpedo off into the opposite side of the ocean. Many marine biologists and scientists have tried to discover the secret behind this almost miraculous maneuver that the sardine schools pull off every time. Due to research, some theories have been founded which may try to explain this strange phenomenon a little.

Whenever you see a school of sardines in Montezuma, look a little closer and you will notice something very strange. Out of the entire mass of the school, there will be a small percentage of the group going in the opposite direction from all the other sardines. This defies structure and convention it makes no sense and probably speaks of obstinacy. But there will definitely be a small group in every school of sardines that will be going in the other direction. Now, how does the instant turn about happen? According to researchers and marine biologists, the small group that goes in the other direction causes disturbance and friction in the rest of the school of sardines. It causes conflict and the entire school is thrown into confusion. Slowly, the number of sardines going in the opposite direction grows and grows and they are determined in going in the other direction. Then, when a sufficient number of sardines of the group are reached, the entire school will turn around and start going with them, for absolutely no reason! There is no sense to this and no concrete theory that explains the behavior but this is how most sardine schools in oceans move about. This lends them easy availability to different directions which can be changed in an instant and also protects them from certain threatening creatures in the oceans and seas.

It is a well known fact that sardines are not capable of surviving alone in the seas and oceans. So being in a school is essentially important for a sardine because for this little fish, it is a decision of life and death. Sardine schools are made up of the sardines in different types. For example, one group may have a long height but short mass. Another group may be structured with 6 – 8 deep layers of sardines moving about in a circular shape.

Video for Sardine Schools

Reference

http://www.fluency21.com/sardines.cfm