Meanwhile, in Florida… no, wait a minute, this fish tale of the discovery of an “alien shark” is from California!
According to USA Today, it all started when a man was out on his paddleboard looking for dolphins when he came across a massive, bizarre-looking fish that appeared as though “it was bitten in half.”
What he did not immediately realize is that Rich German, 52, came across a sunfish while paddling with his buddy Matt Wheaton on Dec. 2 at Laguna Beach.
“It looked like a mutilated shark alien,” German told USA TODAY.
Sunfish are one of the heaviest bony fish in the world and can weigh up to 2.5 tons, according to National Geographic. They are bullet-like in shape and get their name because they are often seen soaking up the sun near the surface of the water.
German said he had seen a dozen of them while hollow boarding over the last 12 years, but nothing of that size or that close to shore.
“We didn’t know what it was immediately,” [because] they are normally miles off the coast, and this one was huge,” German said.
But after he and Wheaton paddled in closer, they realized their encounter was indeed with a giant sunfish. After he went home, German did a little digging, and he found out the largest sunfish on record is 8 feet and 11 inches and realized he may have seen the biggest one yet. German said Wheaton’s board is 14-feet-long and estimated the fish was 9 to 10 feet long.
He said the sunfish has garnered international attention after his post on Instagram and hopes it spreads awareness.
“The more people understand the ocean and what’s in it, the more they might do to protect it.”
Mola Mola…. AKA Sun Fish is a boney fish, but that’s just because the entire outer skeleton is bone…. Well, more like cartilage, actually. And, according to my once-upon-a-time fishing industry boss it is delicious to eat. I’ve never eaten Sun Fish, but I have cleaned a bunch of them…. for my boss. Stick your fillet knife on an edge and then go all the way round the fish. The open the fish in halves. The inside is almost like tapioca. You scoop out all of the meat and boil it. Evidently it tastes like crab meat. So NOW ya know! LOL!
We see them all the time in Hawaii. They are actually very intelligent and compassionate. They like cabbage.
This is a topic that’s near to my heart… Thank
you! Exactly where are your contact details though?