Check Out This Rescue Of Marooned Sunfish

Recently a rescue team from South Africa’s Tow Oceans Aquarium were able to rescue a trapped ocean sunfish that found itself marooned in a dry dock at the V&A waterfront in Cape Town. Workers who were draining the dry dock noticed the massive fish flapping around in the shallows and alerted authorities who then called in the experts. The rescue team have had a fair amount of experience performing this kind of thing and were well prepared for the task before them.

Port authorities supported the rescue effort

When the team arrived at the scene, they found the water level was still too high for them to successfully mount a rescue. The port authorities provided invaluable assistance by draining enough of the water away for the team to do their job. They also suspended dry dock operations until the rescue was complete. Ocean sunfish are large and can grow up to three metres long and weigh in excess of 2,000 kilograms. This means the biggest challenge was lifting the fish and releasing it into open water.

Sunfish appeared to be in good condition

The team understood there was no way to rescue a fish that large without the use of a crane. The workers at the dry dock were able to offer their services and a stretcher carrying the sunfish was hoisted out of dry dock and sent to the harbour. To make sure that the sunfish was able to make its way back to deep water, one of the rescue team members swam with the fish until it had regained its strength and seemed able to sail back to safety. Despite having been marooned in shallow waters for what appears to be a very long time, members of the rescue team appeared to be in good condition.