VietNamNet Bridge – A big sunfish of up to 120kg was netted by Mr. Ho Van Can, a fisherman in Quynh Luu district in the central province of Nghe An on August 27.

Can said he netted the fish around 100 nautical miles offshore Nghe An coast.

The fish is around 1.5m long, over 1m wide, 120kg in weight. The fish was dead when it was fished out from the ocean. Can froze the fish.

“This is the largest fish I’ve ever caught but it was dead,” Can said.

Local people flocked to Can’s house to see the strange fish. Some offered to buy the fish at a high prices but Can did not agree. He donated the fish to the Vietnam Nature Museum.

The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, is the heaviest known bony fish in the world. It has an average adult weight of 1,000kg (2,200 lb). The species is native to tropical and temperate waters around the globe. It resembles a fish head with a tail, and its main body is flattened laterally. Sunfish can be as tall as they are long when their dorsal and ventral fins are extended.

The sunfish is listed as endangered species.

Previously, fishermen in Quynh Luu caught some sunfish but they were small.

Cao Nam-Khanh Van