A giant ocean sunfish measuring 6.9 feet long was spotted off the coast of Hug Point State Park in Arch Cape, Oregon. Known as a Mola mola, the creature caught the attention of local aquatic experts and sparked interest among beachgoers.
Local institution Seaside Aquarium posted photos of the dead sunfish on its Facebook page and said it was unusually large and attracted a lot of attention. While the average is considered to be 6.9 feet, the Mola mola can actually grow up to an astonishing 10 feet long and weigh up to 5,000 pounds. This giant sunfish is just one example of the rich and diverse marine life that exists off the coast of Oregon.
“Another mola mola has washed ashore at Hugh’s Point State Park, and it’s causing quite a stir. Even though it’s been dead for quite some time, it’s still an interesting spot. If you’d like to see it, we recommend heading to Hugh’s Point at low tide and heading north toward the waterfall. Three sunfish have washed ashore in Clatsop County since June. Two of these were ocean sunfish (Mola mola), and one was a hoodwinker sunfish (Mola tecta),” Seaside Aquarium wrote on Facebook.
“It’s not uncommon for these guys to come ashore, since they live off the Oregon coast. We’re getting more reports because of the stir created when the Mola tecta washed up (it was the first Mola tecta documented in Oregon, but that’s probably because it was only recently described and named as a new species). People know we’re interested in documenting these stranded creatures and gathering information from them.”
The most recent sunfish found at Hug Point was 6.9 feet long, which is an average size for our area; however, they can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh up to 5,000 pounds. They feed heavily on jellyfish, which are plentiful this time of year,” the organization added.
The Seaside Aquarium shared photos of the sunfish, showing its gray, wrinkled body in a decomposed state. It’s the third sunfish to wash ashore in Clatsop County since June.
One of the previous sunfish discoveries, the hoodwinker sunfish, was spotted in June. The 7.3-foot-long creature, also known as Mola tecta, is a relatively new species, identified only in the last decade. The fish discovered in June is believed to be one of the largest hoodwinker sunfish ever seen.
