Predator aggregations around a giant school of sardines can create truly unforgettable Blue Planet moments. Sardine Runs as they are called, can occur around 20 miles off the west coast of Baja California between October and December each year. Right in the middle of this season, from 22nd – 28th Nov, 2026, Aqua-Firma photographer, Ralph Pannell, will be hosting an effort to catch sardine runs, which you can join hoping to freedive with an array of marine predators:
Mexico's Sardine Run

Scenes from sardine runs can be highly spectacular – so good that a shot by Rafael Fernandez Caballero taken in Baja Mexico was awarded first place in Oceanographic magazine’s Ocean Photographer of the Year award 2024. This involved a Bryde’s whale lunging at a heart-shaped school of sardines.

Bryde’s whales can grow up to 15 m long and weigh as much as 25 tonnes, making them true ocean giants. They can take out virtually a whole school of sardines in a single lunge in dramatic displays which often breach the water’s surface.

Dramatic sightings don’t stop at Bryde’s whales: Striped Marlin migrations coincide with the sardines of Baja. 4 metre & 190kg Marlin are some of the fastest fish in the world, reaching 50 mph underwater. These graceful hunters are incredible to see and photograph as they swipe through sardines with their bills, dazing prey as they do. Marlin often change colour as they do so, whether this is to confuse the sardines or communicate with other marlin.

When waters are warmer, schools of dorado fish join the fenzy. Dorado are some of the fastest growing fish, increasing up to 2.5 inches every week and reaching their full length of a metre within just one year. The larger males have a characteristic hump on their foreheads and their vibrant gold, green and blue coloration makes them visually highly appealing addition to an attack event. 

Other predators we might see include dozens of sealions, Pacific white-sided dolphins and Mako sharks. Diving in from above might be Frigate birds and Pelicans, with the event continuing until all that is left of the sardines is a haze of scales glistening mid-water. Predators will disperse, looking for their next school of sardines.