Sandwhich dive and Mola Mola

[drunkendiver]

I did a boat dive off of Sandwhich town beach on Saturday. Spending some time getting used to the drysuit (love it, don't think I'll be diving wet again any time soon). Came across some 20+ short lobsters and 4 keeper size lobsters but full with eggs. So I got skunked. Big schools of peanut bunker everywhere. After the dive, we took the boat out to Stellwagen for some whale watching. We saw plenty of whales but the ocean sunfish we came across was the prize. We stopped the boat about 15 yards from him and he swam up to the boat and just hung out next to us for about a half an hour. This guy had incredible curiosity.

 

[large_diver]

That is cool - we say 2 on the north shore on Sunday...one at Halfway Rock and one just outside Gloucester Harbor

 

[Mr.X]

Question: I am looking at the side of the Mola and notice discoloration (pink). Were these abrasion-type injuries, mottling on the fish etc.? Could he been looking for someone to take off extraneous clingers, or bits of decaying flesh? Used to see Molas off Catalina Island - and they are great fish.

 

[drunkendiver]

Mr. X,

I think pink areas were jellyfish like parasites about a 0.5 inch long clumped together (could be wrong). I think your right about him looking for someone to give him a cleaning. I'll check my other photos and see if I can get a better picture of it.

 

[Mr.X]

Some of the Molas I saw carried a lot of these copepods. Hate the copepods (irrational on my part)....just cause they're so darn ugly. Saw similar ones trailing off the fins of Makos and other sharks.

Sunfish photo - Mola mola - G60662 | ARKive