Shoaling sandeels among a thongweed forest ; with the weed offering some shelter , they can be ( marginally !) easier to photograph
CRITTER CONFIDENTIAL
Lesser sandeel Ammodytes tobianus
Paul Naylor recalls some dramatic encounters involving a marine creature that is both numerous and threatened
Above us , there is a swirling maelstrom of silver streaks catching the sun ’ s rays while , below them , eager predators are queuing up to grab their share . Are we in the Maldives or off South Africa …? No , it ’ s South Devon of course !
One of my most memorable moments underwater was created by lesser sandeels , even though it was their demise that was providing the spectacle . We were diving on the wreck of the Herzogin Cecilie near Salcombe many years ago and , while the rest of the group were exploring the kelp-covered metalwork , my buddy and I were transfixed by the drama unfolding over the surrounding sandy seabed . A large shoal of sandeels kept breaking up into different swooping parts that would then reform as they circled above us .
Meanwhile , large pollock were lurking close to the seabed , seemingly waiting for the shoal to reach optimum density above them before soaring up to snatch their victims . The sandeels would split up in panic and the cycle then repeated . I was mesmerised , but unable to capture the action with a stillsonly camera and a 36-exposure roll of slow slide film !
As the ‘ eel ’ in the name implies , sandeels are very slender – this sets them apart from other silvery shoaling fish . A closer look will show they have a jutting lower jaw and forked tail . Ammodytes tobianus is the commonest of three small sandeel species in our waters and the others can only be distinguished by extremely close examination . There are also larger sandeel species , which tend to swim in much smaller groups . I often see them hunting the small sandeels when I am snorkelling .
As well as the ‘ safety in numbers ’ approach of swimming in large shoals , lesser sandeels also try to stay out of trouble by spending some of their time buried in the sand . It can be quite a shock if you touch the seabed where they are hiding with a hand or fin , and this prompts them to burst into the open around you !
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