Imagine drifting underwater through a sea of large fish who are completely unbothered by your presence. That was the experience of conservation storyteller and SeaLegacy co-founder Cristina Mittermeier when she went diving in French Polynesia. She was witnessing the area’s groupers waiting for the next full moon to spawn, a time when the heavy-bodied fish are all together in a trance-like state. During this time, the area also attracts predators, and you can see it all in the latest Behind The Shot video from SeaLegacy below.

“During the summer, in a beautiful part of French Polynesia, the atoll called Fakarava, all these groupers will travel from the lagoon where they’re hiding in all these small reefs,” Mittermeier explains. “And over a period of several days, even weeks, they start traveling to the pass where they congregate and they wait.”

What are they waiting for? She describes how the large fish are waiting for their cue, the brightest moon of the month, which is when the groupers spawn. Mittermeier calls it a beautiful love story, and one she’s able to document because while fish are usually skittish, the groupers do not care. When they are waiting to spawn, they will hold their place.

Photo by Cristina Mittermeier. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master.

As Mittermeier lets the current drift her through the thousands of groupers, she’s using her Sony Alpha 1 and Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master . She is able to approach them with her camera, almost touching the fish with the dome of her underwater housing. “The fish are almost in a trance. They’re barely moving. They’re just sitting there, waiting for the full moon. Thousands of fish waiting together.”

While it might seem like a completely peaceful moment as the groupers wait, the reality is there’s danger lurking near. “There are about a thousand sharks that live on this pass that have been coming here and building a very healthy population of predators,” she explains. “And these predators are here to feed. The groupers, they’re like sitting ducks. They can’t go anywhere, they’re waiting for the full moon. They have to sit it out and their only defense is to camouflage and hide from the sharks.”

Photo by Cristina Mittermeier. Sony Alpha 1. Sony 12-24mm f/2.8 G Master.

The dramatic situation ends with some of the groupers making it, and some not. When the full moon does rise, the fish who have been waiting still for days will suddenly turn into a frenzy to fertilize their eggs. “All the predators around are waiting for those eggs because they’re packed with nutrients and they really support the entire ecosystem. And then it’s over – an incredible experience to photograph.”

See more videos like this one on the Alpha Universe YouTube Channel.