Fish Tales: Anglers Pull in Tropical Fish from the Frigid Baltic
Fishermen Discover Tropical Ocean Sunfish in Baltic Sea
Fishermen in northern Germany have found an ocean sunfish in the Baltic Sea — an odd habitat for the species, which usually lives in tropical waters. The specimen died soon after it was found and is now in the hands of researchers at the German Maritime Museum.
Most fishers traversing the frigid waters of the Baltic Sea aren’t used to signs of the tropics. So when fishermen off the island of Rügen pulled in their nets and found an ocean sunfish — native to the tropical and sub-tropical waters of the Atlantic — they knew something was amiss.
The fish was barely clinging onto life when they found it on Tuesday. After it perished on board, they put it on ice and took it to the island’s coastal town of Sassnitz, where it was then taken to be studied at the German Maritime Museum in nearby Stralsund.
“Ocean sunfish finding their way into the Baltic Sea is pretty rare,” said ichthyologist Timo Moritz, who works for the musem. He said it wasn’t so much the low temperatures that make the Baltic a poor habitat — the fish can live in waters up to 480 meters deep. Rather, it’s the lack of nutrients. “They feed off of jellyfish, and there are no jellyfish in the Baltic in winter,” he said.