Rare sunfish found dead off Sibulan town, Negros Oriental

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – A huge ocean sunfish, weighing about 50 kilos, and which hardly appears in shallow and coastal waters in the Philippines was found dead Tuesday off the shores of  Sibulan in Negros Oriental.

Two fishermen found the ocean sunfish (genus Mola but which species has yet to be verified) near the wharf at Sibulan, drawing attention from a large crowd who never saw such kind of  fish in their lifetime.

According to Dr. Janet Estacion, OIC director of the Silliman University-Institute of Environmental and Marine Science (SU-IEMS), “the sunfish is a very solitary fish and is rarely seen in the wild.” It stays deep in the ocean and can only be seen when they come up to the surface, usually when sick, she added.

Estacion said the dead sunfish was measured at 1.3 meters wide from fin to fin and about 1.4 meters long from snout to tail.

The ocean sunfish is the heaviest known bony fish in the world and, based on scientific literature, it is not edible although in some countries, like Japan, its meat is considered a delicacy, Estacion told The Freeman.

The sunfish was brought to the SU-IEMS laboratory at noon Tuesday where Estacion led a team in the preservation of  the marine animal, which she described as a “rare occurrence.”

Rare, in the sense, that only a few documented findings of sunfish, whether stranded or coming close to the shore, have been reported in the Philippines, she said.

On injuries found on the dead sunfish, Estacion said these could be caused by a number of reasons, such as being hit by a ship or by accidental catch with a fishing net.

The appearance of  the sunfish in relation to the magnitude-7.2 earthquake that hit Bohol last week could also not be ascertained. But Estacion believed the sunfish was already distressed before it came out from the depths.

The marine scientist also disclosed that, while in the process of  preserving the fish with formaldehyde and other chemicals, they found it had a lot of parasites.

The SU-IEMS also tried to get DNA samples from the sunfish, the skin and meat of which were very tough like a “collagen material,” said Estacion. “We will preserve it. Hopefully, if successful (in preservation attempts) we can make a good exhibit out of it” for the public,” she added.

Estacion thanked the people who brought the sunfish to the marine laboratory, as it will help marine scientists in their research of this rare fish. Information about these types of ocean fish can only be gleaned when they come up to the surface or strand themselves, she said.

While she was not sure if the sunfish was listed as a threatened species, she said it was not an ordinary fish that can be seen in the market frequently, said Estacion, adding that it was her 2nd time to see it in her lifetime as a marine scientist.

Reports in previous years stated that one of  such kind was stranded in Pamilakan Island off Bohol, another one in Davao and then in San Jose or Amlan town in Negros Oriental sometime between 2005 and 2006. (FREEMAN)