I am pretty sure this is a wierd sighting. We were headed out to the shrewsbury rocks yesterday afternooon and we saw this fin come out of the water then go back down, up and down, etc. So first thought was a shark or a dolphin. I had a feeling that it wasnt a shark because the fin was not pointed it was kind of squared off. So we reel up and start the motor and head towards it to follow it. From the distance it looked like a HUGE TURTLE on its side dying or something, but when we got to it, it was a Giant Sunfish
It seemed like half its body was taken off and regrew back skin, but my freind said that is what they look like! It was like 4 feet long and we thought it was dying, so my freind grabbed the fin to pick it up, and the thing bashed down into the water with this huge power and off it went. Are these rare to see floating around in 20 feet of water that close to the shore ? It clearly wasnt hurt cuz it was gone in 2 seconds..
"Researches theorize that the basking behavior at the surface may be a method of "thermally recharging" following dives into deeper, colder water.[18] Others point to sightings of the fish in colder waters such as those southwest of England outside of its usual habitat as evidence of increasing marine temperatures." -- Well the water was 72 degrees yesterday.
Fish On
