A huge washed-up fish on the shores of Oregon's Sunset Beach was discovered last week, and experts were astounded by both its size and the place it was found.
The Insider reported, according to assistant manager Tiffany Boothe, at the Seaside Aquarium in Seaside, Oregon, its experts were able to identify the animal as an Opah fish, popularly known as a moonfish. The discovery weighed 100 pounds, stretching 3.5-feet wide, as stated in the statement.
When experts at the Seaside Aquarium arrived at the Oregon beach, explained Boothe in the same statement from the museum, the fish was huger than expected.
In the photo, the fish did not look very huge, although when he came across it, the experts were astounded by the discovery's size, and when they tried to move it, they were surprised again by its weight.
100-Pound Tropical Fish
While the orange-and-silver fish has shocked experts at the museum, this report said it is not the first gigantic Opah to be discovered.
In 2009, an Opah weighing 97 pounds was reportedly caught about 37 miles off the Columbia River Mouth in Milwaukie, Oregon.
Nonetheless, a 100-pound Opah is not quite shocking. According to Seaside Aquarium, while there is not much known about Opahs. They live in the open ocean and can weigh over 600 pounds and measure longer than six feet.
As indicated in the statement, what was most astonishing about the fish is that it ended up on an Oregon beach. The Seaside Aquarium statement added, Opahs are unusual to the Oregon Coast.
Opahs, Boothe explained, are typically very far offshore; thus, it was unusual for one to be quite near the shore that when it died, it washed ashore in nearly pristine condition.
Sign of Ongoing Climate Crisis
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries research biologist Heidi Dewar told The Washington Post that the extraordinary moonfish discovery in Oregon could be a sign of the ongoing climate crisis as more marine animals are moving north as ocean temperatures rise.
In a CNN report, Seaside Aquarium's general manager said, Keith Chandler they are not sure how the Opah fish died, although he estimates that it had been on the beach for less than one hour prior to its recovery aquarium officials.
The statement of the Seaside Aquarium specified that the fish has since been frozen and that in the coming school year, one school will be selected to dissect the washed-out tropical fish for educational purposes.
Important Facts About Opah Fish
According to NOAA Fisheries, Opah has never been examined, although there is no evidence that populations are decreasing or that fishing rates are quite high.
Despite the value of Opah to both commercial and recreational fishermen, little research on the ecology of this fish species and basic biology has been carried out.
To start filling in some of the gaps in data, the Southwest Fisheries Science Center of NOAA began to collect biological samples from Opah in 2009 and, in 2011, initiated an electronic tagging program.
Scientists are hoping to continue tagging Opah fish to learn about both their movements and range. The study would be providing the basic life history information essential for the analyses and management of future populations.
A similar report about the newly-discovered washed-out tropical fish is shown on 6abc Philadelphia's YouTube video below:
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Check out more news and information on the Fish in Science Times.
