Ocean sunfish found dead in Tayabas Bay

An Ocean sunfish (Mola mola) was found dead on the shores of Sariaya’s portion of Tayabas Bay. The half a ton fish is believed to have been trapped in a net, causing its death. Contributed photo

LUCENA CITY—An Ocean sunfish (Mola mola) was found dead Tuesday by a fisherman in Tayabas Bay off the municipal waters of Sariaya town in Quezon province.

Sherwin Rosales, a fishery technician at the local government’s agriculture office, reported that a fisherman spotted the remains of the huge fish some two kilometers away from the coastal village of Guis-Guis San Roque.

The fish measures 2.8 meters long, 1.8 meters wide, and weighs around 500 kilos, Rosales said on his Facebook post.

In an online interview, Rosales said the fisherman assisted by “bantay-dagat” (fish wardens) towed the dead fish to the coastline and buried it.

“The huge fish was probably trapped in a fishing net that caused its death,” Rosales said.

Oceana, a US-based international organization that focused on studies of the oceans, said the Ocean sunfish “are occasionally captured in net fisheries targeting other species.”

“It is the heaviest bony fish in the world, reaching weights of up to 5,100 pounds (2,300 kg), and the distance from the top of the dorsal to the bottom of the anal fin can be as much as 14 feet (4+ m),” Oceana said in its website.

The group said conservationists have not assessed the Ocean Sunfish species, “but it is likely naturally rare and may be depleted in some areas.

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