Monday, December 28th 2015. Nature always amazes us with its wonders, some for their unparalleled beauty and others for how incredible they can be. Such is the case of a giant Sunfish caught on camera by some daring scuba divers off the coast of Portugal, who managed to witness the magnificence of marine life and enjoy one of the most gratifying experiences.
This amazing specimen of Sunfish, is estimated to weigh around 1000 kilograms, and despite its intimidating size that makes any human look small; it doesn’t pose a risk at all, on the contrary, you can observe in the video that it is a very docile fish, with which you can swim with no trouble making the adventure all the more gratifying and unforgettable.
The Sunfish belongs to the Tetraodontiformes family that includes the Pufferfish and Sea Urchin. It’s one of the heaviest and largest vertebrate fish, from 200 to 2000 kilograms; it can be up to 3 meters long, it’s body is flat and does not have a long tail like other fish, on the contrary, it was a small rounded tail that it uses as a rudder; it’s pectoral fins are small just like it’s snout full of pointy teeth. It is found in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Mediterranean Oceans, in warm tropical waters.
This fish’s peaceful behavior is due to the fact it feeds mainly on jellyfish and crustaceans; thus, representing no threat to humans as it is not considered a fearsome predator. However, it is humans who represent a threat to it; since in some countries like Japan, Korea and Taiwan, Sunfish are captured to sell their meat since it is appreciated as a delicacy even though in some other locales such as the European Union, its meat is forbidden and its sale restricted since it is believed to be poisonous.
This privileged diver who had the pleasure to capture the amazing images of the great fish, is photographer Miguel Pereira; who claims the specimen was not uncomfortable at all with his presence or his mates’ and that, on the contrary, it decided to go with them for about 15 minutes while they pictured him. In the astounding video posted on Youtube’s “ViralHog” channel, we can appreciate the fish’s beauty and grandeur as the divers swim around him with no trouble at all.
This kind of close encounters with amazing specimens like the giant Sunfish really make us think about the majesty in nature, which grants us its greatest beauties for us to appreciate; asking in return only that we protect it. This is why it is important to create a conscience about the conservation of all species, so that we can cohabit peacefully and harmonically in this planet, since it’s the only one we have, making us all responsible for its preservation.
ALFA