PORTLAND, Ore. — For the third time this year, a giant sunfish has washed up on an Oregon beach in Clatsop County. The latest arrival washed ashore last week at Hug Point State Park near Arch Cape, according to the Seaside Aquarium, quickly drawing crowds to the beach.
The first sunfish washed up in early June north of Seaside and the second arrived near Sunset Beach about a month ago. That second one, along with the latest arrival, were both ocean sunfish — species Mola mola — which can grow to sizes of up to 10 feet. The one that showed up in June was from a more recently discovered species called Mola tecta, also known as the hoodwinker sunfish.
The hoodwinker was the biggest of the three this summer, measuring 7.3 feet across. The first ocean sunfish was a "relatively small" 5-footer, while the latest arrival measures in at 6.9 feet, according to the aquarium. The latest one appears to have been dead for some time, the aquarium said, while the other two appeared more intact.
The hoodwinker sunfish was a more unusual case because it's typically only found in warmer waters, but the aquarium said ocean sunfish do reside off the Oregon coast and it's not that unusual to see them wash up. The arrival of the rarer Mola tecta in June appears to have sparked greater overall public interest in sunfish sightings as a whole.
Ocean sunfish feed on jellyfish, which are present in large quantities off the Oregon coast at this time of year, the aquarium added.