It’s quite understandable to get really excited about big fish like mantas, sharks or butandings…

It was just a few years ago when the buzz around the local dive community was “may jacks sa Twin Rocks!” followed quickly by “no way!” and “really!?”

To non-divers this probably means nothing so allow me to shed a little light on this: Anilao in Mabini, Batangas is best known for its macro critters, and although it’s not exclusively a small- and reef-fish destination, big fish like sharks or large schools of fish are not mainstay features of the area.

But food fish you would otherwise find in the market? What’s the big deal?

Having a school of jacks in one of Anilao’s most frequented dive sites is the equivalent of discovering oil in Manila Bay or a gold mine in Makati.

Here’s lookin’ at you… Bigeye Jack caranx sexfasciatus.

The Jacks in Anilao are Bigeye Jacks. Jacks are the English name of the common Talakitok and are also known as Trevallies. They are of the family Carangidae which also includes pompanos, mackarel and scad (yup… the humble GG). I will spare you the biology lesson since I will be the first to admit that I don’t know jack about Jacks either.

What I do know is that a school of jacks taking up residence in Twin Rocks is a sign of a (very) healthy ecosystem and, at the same time, a point for vigilance against poachers and illegal fishing. Twin Rocks, a reef in Barangay San Teodoro, was declared a marine sanctuary in 1991. Regulations for its management include no-take and no-anchor zones, as well as a cap on the number of divers that can use the area at a given time. With a school of popular food fish in the area it is easy to imagine how many would like to exploit this knowledge for their immediate gain.

This vigilance by the local communities has since paid off. From a couple of hundred fish that looked to weigh under a kilo today the school is host to thousands of individuals each one looking to easily hit over 2 kilos given their size and girth. A recent dive there as well has also shown a distinct diversity in size among the fish – it made me momentarily anxious that maybe they weren’t growing as big as they were when I had seen them a few months before. It then hit me: a new generation! They’re breeding!

Over the past 3 or 4 years since the school had taken residence in Twin Rocks the numbers have grown and the fish themselves are extremely healthy and fat. Where Anilao has always been seen as a model for successful marine ecosystem stewardship, the school of Jacks adds another feather in their cap.

A wall of Jacks.

Outside of environmental concerns and scientific names is the magic that the humble Talakitok can bring.

My usual visit starts with a surface swim from Balai Resort. It’s about a hundred meters – maybe less – around a rocky outcrop and towards the edge of Planet Dive Resort. In front of a private home I check my gear, clip off my camera, and descend.

At a mere 20 feet (4 meters) you meet the leading edge of the school and before your very eyes thousands of fish are circling you! I usually find a clear rock or sandy patch and just allow the mass to move around me. I snap off a few photos, and take a couple minutes of video as well. The feeling is magical and awe-inspiring. Seeing divers everyday must have made them very accustomed to humans in their midst. The fish are less than an arm’s length away – each individual staring at you with a large eye. At feeding time they line up into the current and while I try to keep from being swept away they just hang in mid-water with flawless grace.

A diver goes to school.

The school moves with quiet order and control, they flow around you and form a wall that blocks your view of the rest of the reef. As one they move off into another direction, or swirl around another obstacle.

I don’t spend too long with the jacks, but in the few minutes I do hover among them I realize that there is a majesty and power in the movement of a unified mass. A beauty and harmony that can only come from moving and thinking as one.

Far and Away.

Sure we have our causes and our advocacies, and we think we’ve got a handle on life… but compared to the single-minded drive to survive of a school of Trevally… we don’t know jack.

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Post Published: 06 October 2011
Author: Jag Garcia
Found in section: Lakwatcha, Travel

Tags: anilao, balai, batangas, diving, Lakwatcha, mabini, marine creatures, scuba, travel, underwater photography, water sports

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