THREE fishermen from northern Negros are under investigation after they caught an ocean sunfish at Tañon Strait, the biggest marine protected area in the country, earlier this week.
On Wednesday, an ocean sunfish, locally known as “mola-mola,” was caught in the fishing net of the fishermen from Barangay Vito, Sagay City.
Edgardo Rostata, chief of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) in Cadiz City, said they found the fish stuck in their net and had to cut its fins to free it.
He said the fish was still alive when it was found, but it died after the fishermen brought it ashore.
Rostata said the possible causes of its death were “prolonged surface exposure during the travel, stress, and sustained wounds from cutting of its fins.”
It took five men to carry the fish from the boat as it weighed at least 200 kilograms. It was 1.5 meter-long and .75-meter wide.
Rostata added that the dead fish was buried in front of the Museo sang Bata sa Negros, near the old Sagay port.
He also said the fishermen will face criminal charges if found guilty of violating the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act and Republic Act 8550, or the Philippine Fisheries Code.
The Cenro-Cadiz chief said the ocean sunfish is considered a “vulnerable” or “threatened species.”
Ocean sunfish, known as the heaviest bony fish in the world, is native to tropical and temperate waters.
Multiple sightings of rare sea creatures, like giant oarfish, were reported in the past weeks, which have sparked debates on whether it can predict earthquakes.
However, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology stressed there are no scientific instruments that can predict when an earthquake will occur.