{"id":507833,"date":"2026-01-11T05:36:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T05:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/507833\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T05:36:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T05:36:26","slug":"mola-mola-an-enormous-ocean-sunfish-swims-with-surfers-then-washes-ashore-in-cardiff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/507833\/","title":{"rendered":"Mola Mola, an enormous Ocean Sunfish, swims with surfers then washes ashore in Cardiff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tiny mouth, big eyes, fairly flat, with a docile personality. Sunfish, or Mola Mola, can be up to ten feet long and weigh 5,000 pounds.<\/p>\n

ENCINITAS, Calif. \u2014 San Diego surfers are never technically alone in the water, but this week a giant ocean sunfish, or mola mola, swam right alongside them before sadly washing ashore at Cardiff State Beach.<\/p>\n

They are out there, but being this close to shore is rare.<\/p>\n

CBS 8 spoke to one of those surfers and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.<\/p>\n

Sunfish, or mola molas, have tiny mouths, huge eyes and fairly flat bodies. They\u2019ve been described as looking like aliens or prehistoric creatures. The Monterey Bay Aquarium says they look like the invention of a mad scientist, but with the personality of the chill turtles in Finding Nemo \u2014 making this a unique and special encounter for surfers right off our coast.<\/p>\n


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Witnesses say it was first spotted north of Swami\u2019s, took its place in the surfing lineup, then made its way toward shore.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody was just in awe. You could see people diving down to get a better look because it was such a special encounter,\u201d said Brandon Rowley, a surfer, photographer<\/a> and wildlife biologist.<\/p>\n

Rowley says no one knew what it was at first. It was even initially called in as a great white shark.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s that giant dorsal fin sticking out of the water, so it makes sense that people might mistake it for a shark. Definitely unlike anything I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d Rowley said.<\/p>\n

The sunfish, or mola mola, is the world\u2019s heaviest bony fish. For comparison, a whale shark is made up only of cartilage. Scripps Institution of Oceanography says they can be massive, but start out incredibly small. They\u2019re most closely related to pufferfish but are not poisonous.<\/p>\n


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\u201cI actually brought a little larvae mola, so this is how they start, and they can grow up to 10 feet and weigh 5,000 pounds,\u201d said Ben Frable with Scripps.<\/p>\n

The one at Cardiff was estimated to be around four feet long and about 500 pounds.<\/p>\n

You can sometimes spot them on local whale-watching trips because they prefer the deep open ocean, but they rarely make it to shore.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re found throughout the world\u2019s oceans. They\u2019re called sunfish because they\u2019re often basking on their side, sunbathing,\u201d Frable added. \u201cThey swim about two miles per hour \u2014 pretty calm, pretty chill. Think the turtle from Finding Nemo and its attitude toward life.\u201d<\/p>\n

It could have been old or sick, or possibly struck by a boat, but this time it was likely the unusually high tides that churned the sea and washed another unique creature ashore.<\/p>\n


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\u201cIn a breeding season, a female mola can produce 300 million eggs. That\u2019s more than any other vertebrate,\u201d Frable said.<\/p>\n

California State Parks says the fish was left on the beach overnight and eventually washed back out with the tide.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have an incredible and beautiful coastline. If you stick around long enough, you\u2019re bound to see something really cool, and it helps you appreciate everything we have around us,\u201d Rowley added.<\/p>\n

Mola molas are listed as vulnerable, so if you want to help protect them, be extra mindful of plastic bags. They often hang out near the ocean\u2019s surface, and their main diet consists of jellyfish \u2014 which can resemble plastic bags \u2014 possibly another reason this one made it to shore.<\/p>\n


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