VIDEO: Huge ocean sunfish caught in Florida tide
A large Mola Mola, also known as an ocean sunfish, found itself nearly beached earlier this week in Volusia County. A sheriff’s office deputy helped push the stuck fish — which can be as large as 14 feet tall and 10 feet wide — out to see. “It’s like watching a Roomba,” the sheriff’s deputy said in his bodycam video.
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Alligators, sharks, manatees, lizards, bears, and dolphins are common wildlife in Florida. Yet, new video recently showed a very large and seemingly strange looking fish that had washed ashore on a Florida beach and become stranded.
It’s a massive fish that has two large fins and very large eyes. To some, it could honestly look like the drawing of a cartoon character. It’s known by a few names: the ocean sunfish, oceanic sunfish, Mola fish, or Mola Mola.
According to some reports, it is one of – if not the – heaviest fish in the world, potentially weighing up to 5,000 pounds.
‘It’s like watching a Roomba’
What they’re saying:
Last week, deputies with the Volusia Sheriff’s Office responded to the coastline where one of these Mola Mola fish had apparently swam too close to shore and became relatively stranded along the beachline.
Bodycam footage obtained from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office shows the large silvery-gray fish washed up on the beach in only a few inches of water.
One of the deputies attempts to move the flat fish by pulling slightly on one of its fins.
“It’s slimier than you would think,” the deputy says in the video. “It’s like sandpaper.”
“He’s paddling with his bottom fin trying to go forward,” the deputy says as the fish starts to move.
After several attempts of strategic maneuvering, the deputy grabs a rope to help move the fish.
“Alright bud, I’m trying to help you out here,” the deputy says as he tries to free the fish.
Finally, after several minutes, the deputy is able to free the enormous aquatic species.
What the heck is a Mola Mola?
The backstory:
The Mola Mola is the heaviest of all the bony fish, with large specimens reaching 14 feet vertically, 10 feet horizontally and weighing nearly 5,000 pounds, according to National Geographic.
Officials said the fish typically have tiny mouths and large eyes with truncated tails.
A Mola Mola is the heaviest of all the bony fish. (Credit: Monterery Bay Aquarium)
The fish are known for swimming in open waters across the globe in tropical and temperate oceans.
According to National Geographic, the fish typically follow a diet that consists of jellies and other gelatinous zooplankton, such as slaps, squid and algae.
Conservation efforts
What you can do:
The Mola Mola is listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
Because the fish spends so much time drifting near the ocean surface, officials said they are vulnerable to fishing boats that use drift gillnets.
Although gillnets usually don’t kill Mola Molas immediately, experts said they cut into the fish’s skin, scrape off their protective mucus and flood their gills with air.
Plastic bags are yet another hazard to the fish, as they float near the surface of the water and can cause the animal to choke or clog its stomach if consumed.
How common are Mola Mola fish in Florida?
Local perspective:
Although divers are known to encounter Mola Mola in the Azores, the Mediterranean and even Florida, experts say two of the best spots for Mola Mola encounters are the open sea off the California coast and the reef drop-offs of Bali.
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The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, National Geographic and the Monterery Bay Aquarium.
