Two fishermen were astonished to see a huge sunfish washed up on a deserted beach.
They found the creature 25 km east of the River Murray mouth – a popular fishing and holiday destination in South Australia.
At Goolwa Pipico, supervisor Steven Jones spotted it while out with his fishing team. You will be shocked to know that the sunfish was estimated to be around 2.5 meters in length and weighed several hundred kilograms.
Linette Grzelak posted the picture of the fish to Facebook after her partner, who was fishing for cockles, returned home. In the picture, you can see Hunter and Steven Jones with the giant sunfish.
‘’A sunfish found by my partner along the Coorong a couple [of] nights ago… I thought it was fake,’’ she said.
‘’They thought it was wood as they were driving up,’’ she added.
Fish collection manager Ralph Foster, from the South Australian Museum, explained why so many sunfish get washed up on the beach.
‘’One of the big dangers would being hit by big boats at sea,’’ he said.
‘’They often eat plastic bags thinking they are jellyfish which can kill them.’’
Sunfish wash up on South Australian shores quite frequently, Mr Foster said he received reports of several every year.
‘’They are actually quite common in Australian waters but they are generally further out to sea.’’
Sunfish can grow up to 3 meters long, 4.2 meter high and weigh up to 2.5 tons are considered vulnerable in the wild making the find even more incredible.
It is found in waters around the world but are often confused for sharks because of its fin.
It is also considered a delicacy in some parts of Asia- Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
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