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Story: Oceanic fish

Stranded sunfish

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Stranded sunfish

In 1984 Nola Jacobs, the wife of the Mana Island farm manager, found a sunfish washed ashore on the eastern side of the island. It was 2.33 metres long and 1.45 metres wide. These fish have a distinctive small mouth, and feed on jellyfish and salps.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)

Reference: EP/1984/0303/13

by Ross Giblin

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Oceanic fish – Moonfish, flying fish, sunfish and mid-water species, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/8768/stranded-sunfish (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 2 March 2009.