Ocean Sunfish Welfare and Incidental Capture in Commercial Fisheries

Ocean sunfish are the world's heaviest bony fish and are frequently captured as bycatch in Mediterranean purse seine and drift net fisheries, suffering significant injury and mortality from incidental capture.

Key Facts

Mola mola can reach 2.3 tonnes and are the world's largest bony fish
They are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List largely due to bycatch mortality
Capture in drift nets and purse seines causes injury from entanglement and mechanical damage
Release of bycatch Mola mola often involves careless handling that causes additional injury
Sunfish are ecologically important as consumers of jellyfish in open ocean systems

Welfare Considerations

Ocean sunfish welfare in bycatch situations is significantly compromised by entanglement in nets that causes fin damage, scale loss, and internal injury from struggling. Bycatch handling on commercial vessels often involves mechanical lifting and dragging that causes additional injury to animals that may weigh hundreds of kilograms. Live release of injured sunfish may simply delay mortality from wounds sustained during capture. Bycatch mitigation measures including large-mesh exclusion windows in drift nets and rapid live release with minimal additional handling significantly reduce welfare harm. Consumer demand for dolphin-safe and bycatch-reduced tuna encourages adoption of bycatch mitigation measures.

What You Can Do

Choose tuna certified under sustainable fisheries schemes that minimise bycatch of non-target species
Advocate for Mediterranean drift net fishing restrictions that protect ocean sunfish
Support IUCN efforts to improve data on Mola mola population status and bycatch mortality
Raise awareness of ocean sunfish welfare as a bycatch issue in tuna and swordfish fisheries
Engage with seafood certification bodies on including large bycatch species welfare in standards