During a recent swim I was somewhat startled by the sudden appearance of these two large fish. I was close to shore when they shot past. At first I thought they were sharks, but quickly realized that wasn’t the case. They were just very big fish.

Their size, and the shape of their tails, made me think of jacks, and initially I identified them as rainbow runners, but later I realized they’re actually milkfish. Milkfish are the sole member of their species and my fish book calls them ‘among the most ancient and primitive of bony fishes.’

The larger of these two, in the top photo, was probably around three-and-a-half feet long. Those smaller, dark fish are around 9 inches long.