Q: Did s/he jump or was s/he pushed?
A: S/he jumped out of the relevant wave and onto one of Australia’s most beautiful, untamed beaches.
Q: Why, in fewer than four words?
A: Spooked by salmon….
More accurately, this little fish was spooked by Arripis truttaceus.
Commonly known as the Western Australian salmon, Arripis truttaceus is not actually a salmon, nor even a “relative” of actual salmon.
Western Australian “salmon” are highly-rated as “sports fish”; each autumn “the salmon run” attracts many fishers to the southern beaches of Western Australia.
These “salmon” are voracious, well-organised predators.
They are known for herding shoals of smaller fish.
That was occurring in the shallows lapping Little Beach in Two Peoples Bay, near Albany, on the afternoon of 24 March 2021.
The little fish pictured above was one of several who literally leapt out of the water, thereby ensuring certain death on the beach, rather than merely a high likelihood of it in the shallows.
Unsurprisingly, my beach-bound attempts to photograph what was going on within the nearest wave were not highly successful.
This shot just might give you some idea:
Click this to learn more about Arripis truttaceus.
Those who have fallen for the widespread notion that they are fantastic “sports” fish, but “not worth eating” would do well to note the contrary case, eloquently expressed by a notable chef. In this article he explains how to treat the fish properly, immediately after you catch it.
Here, you can see a photo essay about fishing “the run” on WA’s South Coast; it includes an allegedly delicious recipe.
I.d wager most of the fish in the bottom photo are Australian herring, a close relative of the Australian salmon. Note the black tails. I think the fish in the top photo is what we call a chad, probably another misnomer.
I’d wager that Mike is correct; he knows a lot more about fish than does yours truly.
Cheers,
Doug