Huge sunfish caught off Ceuta needs two cranes to lift it

Huge sunfish weighing more than 1000 kilos caught in the waters of Ceuta

An incredible catch was made in the waters off the coast of Ceuta, the Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. A monster sunfish was discovered trapped in the fishing nets of the UEDO networks on October 4, something which is a very important scientific find.

Measuring 2.9 metres, and with a distance between its fins of 3.20 metres, the enormous creature needed two cranes that were installed on two boats to lift it out of the water. When it was eventually weighed, the fish tipped the scales at more than 1000 kilos.

After being analysed by researchers at the Estrecho Marine Biology Station of the University of Sevilla, the huge sunfish was set free back into the ocean. This specimen of fish belongs to the Mola alexandrini family, a southern sunfish, also known as Ramsey’s sunfish.

The scientists from the Estrecho Marine Biology Station in Ceuta made a video recording of their specimen – which you can watch below – before releasing it.

In the Guinness Book of World Records, there is a specimen recorded that was found off the Japanese shores of Kamogawa. It measured 2.72metres in length, and weighed 2,300kg. Sunfish are famous for growing to massive sizes. Their basic diet is plankton, jellyfish, and small squid, as reported by cadenaser.es.

🐟 Nos llegan más imágenes del pez luna que han estudiado investigadores de la US ➡️ https://t.co/HJul9Bg3oU

🌊El ejemplar, de más de 1.000 kg, fue localizado en aguas de Ceuta atrapado en las redes de una almadraba. Pudo ser liberado y devuelto al mar. pic.twitter.com/bilvKx7Wn3

— Universidad de Sevilla (@unisevilla) October 15, 2021

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