Horse-Eye Jack

Photo: Mark Hulme · CC BY-NC

Horse-eye jacks form massive tornado schools above El Banco seamount, sometimes reaching several thousand individuals that form a swirling silver column above the pinnacle. As midwater predators they respond to both schooling baitfish concentrated by the seamount topography and to the upwelling currents that bring nutrients from depth. Descending into the center of a horse-eye jack tornado is one of the defining experiences at El Banco.