After a series of sightings of dead oarfishes, another deep-sea creature was caught in Misamis Oriental on Wednesday morning, February 22.
Locally called "mola-mola," the sunfish was caught by a fisherman in Balingasag in Misamis Oriental. The pelagic fish was still alive but too weak and eventually died.
It was immediately brought to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources office in Balingasag
Residents said the sunfish would weight approximately 60 kilos.
Sunfish are the heaviest known bony fish in the world. Adult sunfish can weigh as heavy as 1,000 kilos.
This is the eight deep-sea creature to have surfaced since January of this year. Before Surigao was hit by a 6.7-magnitude earthquake on February 10, five different oarfishes were seen in different areas.
A sixth oarfish, 12 meters in length, was found in Carmen, Agusan Del Norte on February 15. Two days after, Surigao was hit by two "aftershocks" of magnitude 4.6 and 2.8, at 5:18 p.m. and 7:34 p.m., respectively.
(READ: Another Dead Oarfish Found in Agusan Del Norte! Is It a Sign of Another Earthquake?)
A seventh oarfish, 15 meters in length, was spotted in Cagayan de Oro on Saturday, February 18.
(READ: 7th Dead Oarfish Spotted on Cagayan de Oro Shore. Is It a Sign of Another Impending Disaster?)
Experts believe that these pelagic (or deep-see) creatures would come out of the surface when they detect deep-sea underwater fault movement.
Last week, PHIVOLCS warns of a possible earthquake more destructive than the one that hit Surigao, due to fault movement. This was coined as "The Big One,"
(READ: Manila Under Threat of Greater Earthquake Than Surigao That Could Kill Thousands - PHIVOLCS)
It was determined that 57 residential villages and towns in Metro Manila are sitting on the West Valley Fault line. These towns might be greatly affected and are advised to take necessary precautions.
(READ: 57 Subdivisions/Villages in Greater Metro Manila Projected to be Severely Damaged by 'The Big One' Earthquake)
Source / Image: ABS-CBN
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