Art. XIV.—On a Specimen of Sunfish captured at Poverty Bay.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 25, 1892, Page 110

Art. XIV.—On a Specimen of Sunfish captured at Poverty Bay. By Archdeacon W. L. Williams. [Read before the Auckland Institute, 17th October, 1892.] It is now nearly three years since that a large specimen of sunfish (Orthagoriscus mola), the dimensions of which are worth recording, was captured by some men who were working on the Gisborne breakwater. After it was safely landed the fish was exhibited by its captors. I had not the good fortune to see it myself; but Dr. A. H. Williams, who saw it, measured it carefully, and found that the length from snout to tail was 9ft. 8in., and that the depth from tip to tip of the fins was 11ft. 6in. It is much to be regretted that so fine a specimen was not preserved in some way and placed in one of our museums. The following account of the fish, and of its capture, was given me by Mr. W. J. Fox:— “On the 12th December, 1889, as I was working on the large crane on the breakwater, I observed what I took to be the fin of a large shark appearing above the water about a quarter of a mile east of the breakwater. I at once went, with a companion, in a boat to the spot, taking some dynamite with us; but the creature had disappeared. After a while we discovered it lying on the bottom, on its side, in about 10ft. of water, and I thought it might be a calf whale. We dropped a charge of dynamite down to it, which, when it exploded, must have stunned it, and turned it over. We then returned to the breakwater to fetch a boat-hook. After the explosion of another charge of dynamite the fish came to the surface, and lay with one side of its head out of the water.

Orthagoriscus mola

We then laid a dynamite cartridge on the head, with a short fuse attached, the explosion of which effectually stunned it, and then we were able to get a rope round it and to tow it to the breakwater. Our rope not being strong enough to lift it by, we used the chain sling and the grab of the ‘Hercules.’ Judging from the power it required to lift it, the engineer reckoned that the weight must have been about 3.½ tons. The length from head to tail was 9ft., and the measurement from tip to tip of the upper and lower fins was 11ft. 6in. When the fish was brought out of the water, the body was found to be covered with small red insects, like what are commonly known as whalefeed. We tried to skin it, but did not succeed, as it seemed impossible to separate the skin from the flesh, which was like a mass of white indiarubber. The eye looked small, only about 2in. in diameter; but when it was opened out it was found to be about the size of a 561b. shot. As soon as it was dead—about 3 o'clock in the afternoon—a long worm began to come out from the mouth, the end of which had not appeared when the fish was buried two days afterwards. “William J. Fox.” The worm mentioned in Mr. Fox's account as having come out from the mouth is said to have been like a narrow tape, and many yards in length.