I used to think that the Grouper spawning at the south pass of Fakarava atoll in French Polynesia and specifically, the first year that I witnessed it in 2009, was the greatest natural history event that I had ever seen. But that view changed one late afternoon in July 2017.

The spawning of Convict Surgeonfish in the same area happens with much more regularity than the Grouper spawning and at shallower depths. The complication is that the spawning takes place as the current is switching to an outgoing one and by the time peak action is underway, photography is often challenging in the extreme, with a risk of being swept far down the reef pass towards the open ocean.

The spawning is spectacular enough but it is the attendant Grey Reef Sharks that push the spectacle to superlative levels. Amped-up, they charge into the spawn, mouths agape and will opportunistically help themselves to any unwary fish. To be surrounded by the spawning fish and the multitudes of one-tracked sharks is surely the greatest adrenaline rush that I’ve ever experienced. All subsequent marine encounters since have seemed tame in comparison.

Canon 5Dsr, Canon 16-35mm@16mm, 1/80th sec, f8, ISO 500, Subal housing, twin Ikelite strobes

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