The first video about the hunt of the 'fastest fish in the world'

Thanks to equipment attached to the sailfish's body, scientists recorded the process of it hunting tuna at a maximum speed of 3.1 meters per second .

Sailfish fitted with tracking equipment. (Photo: Guy Harvey Research Institute of Nova Southeastern University).

A research team at Nova Southeastern University (USA) attached a camera to a sailfish ( Istiophorus platypterus ) , a fish considered by most experts to be the fastest in the ocean, and recorded its hunting process, IFL Science on March 21. 2 reported. This is the first time in the world that scientists have captured footage of a sailfish hunting alone from its own perspective . New research published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Sailfish are famous for their strength, unique appearance, and high-speed hunting behavior. However, experts only understand very little about how solitary sailfish hunt, mainly because they cannot catch up with them.

Footage of sailfish hunting tuna. (Video: IFL Science)

Given the size of sailfish, many experts believe that they have a high metabolic rate. But this has not been well studied because they are difficult to keep in captivity. In new research, scientists successfully attached a data logger to a sailfish in the tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean. This data logger is equipped with cameras to monitor its behavior for 24 hours. Thanks to that, the research team was able to record the scene of solitary sailfish hunting tuna.

Sailfish have to make many attempts to catch tuna. Tuna even try to hide by swimming close to the sailfish, avoiding the hunter's sight. The video did not capture the moment the sailfish caught the tuna (because the camera angle did not show the sailfish's mouth), but after 60 seconds, the sailfish performed a "head shake" movement. Researchers suggest that this movement often represents swallowing or handling prey, indicating successful hunting by the sailfish.

Sailfish are considered by many experts to be the fastest fish in the world with a maximum speed of about 8.2 meters per second, but the individual tracked by the research team at Nova Southeastern University only reached a maximum speed of 3.1 m per second during the tuna hunt. The team believes that chasing tuna at lower speeds helps the predator be more mobile and flexible, instead of swimming too fast and being unable to keep up with the prey's changes of direction.

In the new study, scientists have provided the first footage of solitary sailfish hunting, more than 24 hours of behavioral data and estimates of metabolic rate. "Research helps improve our understanding of the mysterious lives of this ecologically and economically important fish. That knowledge is essential to help us better protect these animals . " Dr. Mahmood Shivji, study co-author and director of the Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University, said.