A 7-foot-long ocean sunfish was recently discovered on an Oregon beach, attracting the attention of local aquatic experts.
The fish, which is also known as a Mola mola, recently washed ashore at Hug Point State Park in Arch Cape, Oregon. A local aquarium called Seaside Aquarium posted pictures of the creature on Facebook, and noted that it was “creating quite a stir.”
“While it has been dead for quite some time, it is still an interesting site [sic],” Seaside Aquarium observed. “If you want to go see it, we recommend heading to Huge Point at low tide and head north towards the waterfall.”
The aquarium reported that the dead fish was 6.9 feet long, which is considered average in size. Mola mola can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh as much as 5,000 pounds.
“They feed heavily on jellyfish which are in huge abundance this time of year,” the aquarium said.
Pictures shared by Seaside Aquarium show the gray, wrinkled fish in a state of decay. Seaside Aquarium noted that three sunfish have washed ashore in Clatsop County since June.
One of the fish, a hoodwinker sunfish, was spotted in June. The 7.3-foot-long creature, also known as a Mola tecta, was only described as a unique species in the past 10 years, and is believed to have been one of the largest hoodwinker sunfish ever seen by humans.
“It is not unusual for [sunfish] to wash ashore as they do reside off the Oregon Coast,” the aquarium noted. “We are getting more reports because of the stir that the Mola tecta caused when it washed in (it was the first Mola tecta documented in Oregon, but that is likely because it has just recently been described and designated as a new species).”
“People are aware that we are interested in documenting these strandings and collecting information from them.”
Some Facebook users wrote that they had seen the fish in person, with one commentator noting the decaying fish’s odor.
“It has now washed to the south end of Hug Point beach. With quite an aroma,” one local said.
“We saw it last week. It was pretty deteriorated then,” another added.
