WLA giant sunfish was caught in the fishing nets of a ship last week, 500 meters off the coast of Ceuta.
The size of the animal, more than a ton in length and 3.20 meters in length, aroused the interest of hunters and biologists. Before returning it to its natural environment, DNA samples were taken to study it better.
This species is the heaviest bony fish in the world. In recent decades, very few specimens of sunfish have been found in Spain, and, according to specialists, none of these dimensions has been found.
“It was exceptional! In Japan, a sunfish with a length of 2.7 meters and a weight of about two tons was caught. It is difficult to study them, so we collect samples before returning them to the sea”, explained Enrique Ostalli, coordinator of the Marine Biological Station of the Straits of the University of Seville, also based in Ceuta, to Spanish newspaper El Pais.
The sun fish, its scientific name great great, a species considered vulnerable, whose numbers are declining, according to data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Poachers are not interested in these animals, as the species is not marketed. Its meat may contain toxins because it feeds on microorganisms, fish larvae and jellyfish.
More pictures of the sunfish are coming to us, which were studied by researchers from the United States ️ https://t.co/HJul9Bg3oU
The specimen, weighing more than 1,000 kg, was found in the waters of Ceuta trapped in a trap net. It can be released and returned to the sea. pic.twitter.com/bilvKx7Wn3
– unisevilla (unisevilla) October 15 2021
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