A large unusual and bony fish head was found on a beach at the southend of Arran last week.
Debbie Lammie of West Bennan was out walking her dog on Wednesday night when she came across it. She said: ‘It was just lying on a rock on Torrylinn beach and looked so strange that I wondered if anyone would know what it is.’
Neil MacLean of Lamlash, president of Arran Angling Association, was quite surprised when he saw it.
‘It is unusual but not unique,’ he said. ‘It is the head of an ocean sunfish that is normally found in the tropics and Mediterranean. Sea waters are getting warmer and perhaps with the effect of the Gulf Stream it has found its way to our shores. They can’t stand cold water. I’ve seen them off southern Ireland but not in Arran waters before.’
The ocean sunfish is the heaviest bony fish in the world and can grow up to two metres long and 50kgs in weight. The name of sunfish comes from its habit of basking on its side on the surface to get warmth from the sun.
It is considered a delicacy in Japan and Taiwan and lives on a diet mainly of jellyfish which it consumes in large quantities to maintain its great bulk. The sunfish is vulnerable to death from floating rubbish such as plastic bags but Neil thought this one had probably died from the cold.
