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Ocean Sunfish

The ocean sunfish, or Mola mola, are one of the heaviest bony fish in the ocean, weighing up to 2,235 kilograms (4,927 pounds)!

 

Ocean sunfish have a unique appearance: they are compressed and ovular with large fins protruding from the top and bottom of their bodies. They have two small fins on either side of their bodies and a shortened tail, which acts as a rudder. Ocean sunfish are found in the open ocean, in both the tropical and temperate regions of the Mediterranean, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Occasionally, they will venture from the open ocean to kelp beds and coral reefs.

These fish grow at an astonishing rate. While in their juvenile stage, they can grow up to 0.82 kilograms (1.8 pounds) every single day. By the time they are adults, ocean sunfish can be up to 3 meters (about 10 feet) long and 4.26 meters (14 feet) tall. They feed on jellyfish and soft-bodied invertebrates such as crustaceans and mollusks. Because they must sometimes dive into deep, cold waters to catch their prey, these fish will warm up by basking on their side at the water’s surface – how they got their name!

 

 

Ocean sunfish are often victims of bycatch, long lines, drift gillnets and midwater trawls. Estimates have predicted that their populations are declining by at least 30% every 24-30 years. According to a 2004 study, ocean sunfish made up 29% of the catch in drift gillnet fisheries targeting swordfish in Southern California.

 

 

Preventing ocean sunfish from being caught incidentally in fishing gear is important to stopping their population from declining. To try and address this problem, the country of Morocco has phased out drift gillnet fishing, which benefits both these fish and other ocean animals. Oceana is continuing to work around the world to prevent threatened and endangered species from being caught as bycatch.

 

 

  • IUCN Red List 
  • Animal Diversity 
  • Gomes-Pereira, J. N., et al. (2023). The heaviest bony fish in the world: A 2744-kg giant sunfish Mola alexandrini (Ranzani, 1839) from the North Atlantic. Journal of Fish Biology, Volume 102, Pages 290–293. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15244 
  • Sawai, E., & Nyegaard, M. (2022). A review of giants: Examining the species identities of the world’s heaviest extant bony fishes (ocean sunfishes, family Molidae). Journal of Fish Biology, Volume 100, 1345–1364. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15039 
  • Thys, T.M., et al. (2020). The Ocean Sunfishes: Evolution, Biology and Conservation (1st ed.). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780429343360  

 

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