Canterbury beach mystery: The case of the missing sunfish

While walking on Taumutu beach on the southern shores of Lake Ellesmere, a member of the Birdlings Flat Community Facebook page discovered a very unlikely washed up specimen.

Immediately, he shared a photo of him standing next to the blob-like creature, which attracted a flurry of confused commenters.

“Poor old sunfish.....wonder why it washed up?”

“What a monster!! The fish is pretty impressive too.”

“If it's still there, would someone be able to get some measurements of the length and width. It would be great to add this amazing find to iNaturalist!”

Joining them in the online chatter was an eager and nationally renowned Auckland ocean sunfish researcher.

“SUNFISH S.O.S.!! INTEL NEEDED!!!” wrote Marianne Nyegaard on the Facebook page.

The academic explained in her post that she flew down to the beach within a day, hoping to check out the stranded sea animal. But all she found was an empty beach.

“OH NO! If anyone knows where it is, or sees it please comment or post here! I am in the area until Tuesday (26th of May) and will be so very super duper thankful for any help locating this fish,” she pleaded online.

Some suggested that local swell conditions probably meant that the ocean has reclaimed the creature.

Others decided to make light of the situation, posting memes and missing photos on behalf of the sunfish’s family.

In an older post from the Department of Conservation, Marianne Nyegaard encourages anyone who might stumble upon a sunfish to immediately call 0800 DOCHOT or to get in touch with her through social media.

She explained that photos and a couple of measurements can go a long way for researchers hoping to get to the root of these wash ups.