Forster aerial photographer Adam Fitzroy spent eight hours on Tuncurry Beach waiting for commercial fisherman Danny Elliott and his crew to get the chance to haul in this catch.

An annual phenomenon that sees adult mullet migrate out of the estuaries and head north along the coast to spawn, the mullet run generally takes place between April and May and attracts the attention of commercial fishermen from Eden to Tweed Heads.

A highly weather-dependent pursuit, this day saw Mr Elliot and his crew pull in one of their better catches for the season, with the persistent warm weather affecting the movements of the fish.

"When there's a cold sou-west change is when they head onto the beaches and head north," Mr Elliott said.

"The trouble this year is there hasn't been many cold changes."

On this particular day there were also dolphins to contend with, with the crafty predators keeping the mullet contained in the mouth of the harbour as they fed on the fish.

When the mullet did finally move from the harbour to the ocean, the dolphins turned from adversaries to accomplices as they herded the fish along the shore to where the fishermen were waiting with their net.

According to Mr Fitzroy, who was stationed on the break wall, there was also a lone bronze whaler feasting on the school, with the three-metre shark swimming within a few metres of where he was standing as the fish sought protection along the rocks.

Once the fish were netted, the 20-tonne catch was loaded into the trucks and taken off to be sold, where they were purchased for their roe, for eating, and as bait.

For Mr Fitzroy, who has observed the phenomenon in the past but never shot it, it was satisfying to capture the spectacle and share it online, where the video has been garnering a lot of attention.

To check out more of his aerial videos and imagery from the Great Lakes, click here.

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