Deputies Help 'Clumsy' 5,000-lb. Fish — the 'Heaviest' of its Kind — Stuck on a Florida Beach

Mar. 15, 2025

A Mola Mola, also known as an ocean sunfish, took an accidental trip to the beach.On Feb. 3, a Mola Mola swam close to the shore of Daytona Beach, Florida, and ended up stuck between the beach and the sea wall, according toa Facebook post from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.Deputies from the sheriff’s office responded to calls about the cornered fish and found the Mola Mola on its side facing a sea wall. At times, beached fish can maneuver themselves back into the ocean. Unfortunately, several factors, including the fish’s inherent clumsiness and large size, worked against the Mola Mola in this situation.“The mola is the heaviest of all the bony fish, with large specimens reaching 14 feet vertically and 10 feet horizontally and weighing nearly 5,000 pounds. They are clumsy swimmers, waggling their large dorsal and anal fins to move and steering with their clavus,” the Volusia Sheriff’s Office shared in its post, citingNational Geographic.The agency’s Facebook post includes bodycam footage from “Deputy Urquhart,” which shows how he and another deputy freed the monstrous fish. The clip begins with the deputies trying to tug the fish out to sea with their hands. After trying to maneuver the heavy fish for several minutes without getting too far, the deputies decide to try pulling the sea creature with a rope.Mola Mola fish stuck on a Florida beach.Volusia Sheriff’s Office via StoryfulThe two men wrap a rope around Mola Mola’s midsection and pull on the cord together. With the deputies pulling on the rope, the fish makes much quicker progress away from the wall. Soon, the fish is facing out to sea again, so Deputy Urquhart gives the animal a final push.The video closes with the deputies watching the fish swim back out to the safety of deeper waters.In the footage, one of them remarks, “It’s like watching a Roomba.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“They are harmless to people but can be very curious and will often approach divers. Their population is considered vulnerable,” Volusia Sheriff’s Office added in its post about the encounter.The agency added that it is not usually sea walls that cause issues for Mola Molas but human-created problems.“Sunfish frequently get snagged in drift gill nets and can suffocate on sea trash, like plastic bags, which resemble jellyfish,” the sheriff’s office concluded its post.

A Mola Mola, also known as an ocean sunfish, took an accidental trip to the beach.

On Feb. 3, a Mola Mola swam close to the shore of Daytona Beach, Florida, and ended up stuck between the beach and the sea wall, according toa Facebook post from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies from the sheriff’s office responded to calls about the cornered fish and found the Mola Mola on its side facing a sea wall. At times, beached fish can maneuver themselves back into the ocean. Unfortunately, several factors, including the fish’s inherent clumsiness and large size, worked against the Mola Mola in this situation.

“The mola is the heaviest of all the bony fish, with large specimens reaching 14 feet vertically and 10 feet horizontally and weighing nearly 5,000 pounds. They are clumsy swimmers, waggling their large dorsal and anal fins to move and steering with their clavus,” the Volusia Sheriff’s Office shared in its post, citingNational Geographic.

The agency’s Facebook post includes bodycam footage from “Deputy Urquhart,” which shows how he and another deputy freed the monstrous fish. The clip begins with the deputies trying to tug the fish out to sea with their hands. After trying to maneuver the heavy fish for several minutes without getting too far, the deputies decide to try pulling the sea creature with a rope.

Mola Mola fish stuck on a Florida beach.Volusia Sheriff’s Office via Storyful

Volusia Sheriff’s Office via Storyful

The two men wrap a rope around Mola Mola’s midsection and pull on the cord together. With the deputies pulling on the rope, the fish makes much quicker progress away from the wall. Soon, the fish is facing out to sea again, so Deputy Urquhart gives the animal a final push.

The video closes with the deputies watching the fish swim back out to the safety of deeper waters.

In the footage, one of them remarks, “It’s like watching a Roomba.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“They are harmless to people but can be very curious and will often approach divers. Their population is considered vulnerable,” Volusia Sheriff’s Office added in its post about the encounter.

The agency added that it is not usually sea walls that cause issues for Mola Molas but human-created problems.

“Sunfish frequently get snagged in drift gill nets and can suffocate on sea trash, like plastic bags, which resemble jellyfish,” the sheriff’s office concluded its post.

source: people.com