An injured sunfish weighing 150 kilos was found near berth 1 of Cebu International Port (CIP) Thursday afternoon.
But it died a few hours after it was turned over to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR-7) and had to be buried.
“He was already ill when he was found. Based on our autopsy, the sunfish sustained injury due to impact with a hard object,” said regional director Alan Poquita
He said its discovery near the pier showed the fish was already “disoriented”. The sunfish measured 1.54 meters long and 1.65 meters wide.
The ocean sunfish locally known as Mola mola, is the heaviest known bony fish in the world and is found in temperate and tropical waters.
An adult sunfish can reach 1,000 kg in weight.
Supt. Glenn Sarador of the Cebu Ports Authority said the fish was discovered by workers of WGT Construction and Development Corporation who were dredging the Mahiga Creek.
The dead sunfish was later buried in the BFAR’s facility in Carmen town, north Cebu.