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Egypt Independent
For the second time in less than four months, divers from the Red Sea city of Marsa Alam spotted the rare and endangered ocean sunfish (also known as Mola Mola) on Sunday.
The ocean Sunfish is usually found in the deeper layers of waters, however, it was spotted near the surface in Marsa ALam. “The fish was spotted a cruise boat near Elphinstone Reef in Marsa Alam. Some tourists watched and photographed it”, local divers confirmed.
Laws prohibit capturing the ‘Mola Mola’, which is an endangered marine creature threatened with extinction. It is the heaviest known species of bony fish in the world, where the average weight of adults can reach one ton.
“The Sunfish lives in the deep waters of the oceans and seas. The water currents pushed it from the Indian Ocean to the waters of the Red Sea”, Professor of Marine Sciences at the Faculty of Science at Al-Azhar University in Assiut al-Doshi Mahdi said.
He added, “the ocean sunfish spends its entire life in the open ocean. It lives in the warmer layers of water at night at depths ranging from 12 to 50 metres”.
The Egyptian society for the preservation of the marine environment warned fishermen not to approach the areas where the Sunfish is located, nor catch it, disturb it, or chase it. The society demanded protection of the creature, and vowed legal action against violators.
