View Full Version : Tropical sunfish
A friend of ours took a party out on a boat trip off Largs on Wednesday the 8th and reckon they spotted a tropical sunfish. He reported this to the marine station on Cumbrae and they sent a boat out to look for it without any luck. Some of the people on the boat had taken pictures which we are trying to get hold of to pass onto the marine station, they believe that the sunfish which has been spotted further south had been caught in the gulf stream. We will post the pics on CA when we get them.
Will look forward to the pic's of a Sunfish as I have never seen one. Come to think of it, I forget what the Sun looks like :D
now that is interesting, i thought these only lived in Indonesia? perhaps im wrong!
looks like this BB & they grow rather large.
http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:GUvvjQ95gst4dM:http://www.gowhales.com/images/sunfish.jpg
Sunfish also live in the Med
Heres a couple of articles I found on google.
http://www.oceanlight.com/html/mola_mola.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4192566.stm
Have seen them on the surface off Ireland (west coast) a couple of times) but in July on my first dive back after a 3 month lay off following a slipped disc operation, I was lucky enough to see one at 30ms on a wreck off the north coast of Cornwall (The St Chamond - which is a pretty cool wreck anyway as it has 5 or 6 steam train locomotives as its cargo).
Not sure who was the most surprised (us or it)
I am not clever enough to get a link straight through to the relevant page but if you click on the fish link on the left hand side and then go down to the bottom fish "mola mola" then you will get a good description of them from a GB perspective.
http://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/
I guess that in my case, fortune favours the spinally challenged. Really great spot. This one was smaller than the ones that live off Bali which do get humungous.
Snash
now that is interesting, i thought these only lived in Indonesia? perhaps im wrong!
looks like this BB & they grow rather large.
http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:GUvvjQ95gst4dM:http://www.gowhales.com/images/sunfish.jpg
Certainly seen reguallrly, if not commonly, in British waters, although generally further south. When do we get our first loggerhead up here?
Dive Tramp
11-09-07, 23:22
now that is interesting, i thought these only lived in Indonesia? perhaps im wrong
These have recently been caught in nets on the Firth of Forth too!
Seen 1 off St Kilda a few years ago.:)
No pictures.:(
They normally live in the tropics.
alexmaclennan
17-09-07, 15:17
Seen 1 off St Kilda a few years ago.:)
Brian2, how did you find diving St Kilda?
alex
Diving St Kilda
Brilliant.
Very clear water (20 m):)
Life on just about every bit of rock from high water down.:)
Weed down to 20 m
Lots of life among and on the weed.:)
Very colourful.
I recken the sedentary life is more colourful than the tropcis but the fish are much less colourful and fewer in number.
Some of the picture on the Larkhall web site 'Isobel & Tony's complation'
www.larkhallsubaquaclub.co.uk/Isobel%20&%20Tony's%20Compilation/Album7.htm[/URL]
'Kelp forest' & Jewel anemones' look as though they may be taken at St Kilda.
I would spend time there every year if possible, but getting there is very difficult.
You have to either book & fill a whole boat or take pot luck and wait until a space occurs on someone else's trip.:(
Weather can be a hassle and can result in trips being cancelled.:(