On my recent trip to Bali, we spotted the elusive ocean sunfish. Attaching a video clip recorded by me and also excerpt from Wikipedia to share with my fellow divers and friends.
The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, or common mola, is the heaviest known bony fish in the world. It has an average adult weight of 1,000 kg. Average up to 3.5 meters. Many of the sunfish's various names allude to its unique flattened shape. Its specific name, mola, is Latin for "millstone", which the fish resembles because of its grey colour, rough texture, and rounded body. The ocean sunfish resembles a fish head without a tail.
Sunfish are pelagic and swim at depths of up to 600 meters. They usually stay in water warmer than 10 °C. As for Bali of Indonesia, the locals believe mola is there all year round. During the cold season, the mola will swim to shallower water, 30m to 40m. At this depth, it is accessible by recreational divers. Those months are now called the mola season of Bali and it's between August to October. So start planning your next trip to Bali at the right months.
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