Beached sunfish puzzle
‘ Surprising, sad’ discovery of rare marine giant
EXPERTS are calling for an investigation into how and why a giant rare fish became washed up on a Hobart shoreline.
Lindisfarne mother Triona O’Neill was out walking along the beach at Rokeby on New Year’s Day when she noticed a large creature beached up ahead of her.
“I thought it was a dolphin or a seal at first, then as I got closer I could see that it had a completely different consistency, being very flat and round,” she said.
After taking photos of the unusual fish, Ms O’Neill sent the pictures around to some fish experts who informed her the beached species was a sunfish or Mola mola as it’s scientifically referred to.
Ms O’Neill said the dead sunfish was at least a metre in diameter.
“It’s probably the biggest fish I’ve ever seen and the most unusual thing I’ve come across on a beach,” she said.
Photos of the fish have been uploaded to marine species reporting website Redmap.
Sunfish can grow to 2300kg and can swim at a top speed of 3.3km/ h. They can release as many as 300 million eggs at a time.
Marine biologist and Marine Sciences Association past president Gina Newton described the fish discovery as “surprising and quite sad”.
She said it was important authorities investigate the beaching.
“They would be able to conduct an investigation into what caused its death, ( and its) age and sex,” Dr Newton said.
“The species does like to eat jellyfish and it’s not unheard of for it to mistakenly eat plastic bags; that’s not to say that’s how this one died, though.
“Of course Tasmanian waters are heating up faster than other places so, again, it could be a contributing factor to what’s happening with climate change.”
A sighting of the species was reported in 2015 when a large sunfish washed up at Maria Island on the state’s east coast.
A year earlier, sailors participating in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race linked a collision with a sunfish — which can grow to three metres in length – as a reason for their boat sinking.