PORTLAND, Jamaica - Fisherman Desmond Phillips Sunday morning caught a sunfish off the shore of Boston Bay in Portland.
'At first I thought it was an alien, and I was somewhat frightened,' Desmond Phillips says of bizarre-looking catch, which lured dozens to the beach
The massive sunfish was so bizarre looking that Desmond Phillips, one of two Jamaican fishermen who caught the estimated 900-pound behemoth on Sunday, thought it was from another world.
'At first I thought it was an alien, and I was somewhat frightened,' Desmond Phillips says of bizarre-looking catch, which lured dozens to the beach
The massive sunfish was so bizarre looking that Desmond Phillips, one of two Jamaican fishermen who caught the estimated 900-pound behemoth on Sunday, thought it was from another world.
Phillips (left) and boat captain Grant with the sunfish
鈥淎t first I thought it was an alien, and I was somewhat frightened,鈥� Phillips told the Jamaica Gleaner. 鈥淚t was difficult to bring the fish to the surface, and even more challenging to get the monster into the boat.
鈥淲hen I realized what it was that we had caught, I said to my partner, Michael Grant, who is the boat captain, maybe we should release it.鈥�
The two fishermen hooked the sunfish off Boston Bay and after a battle that lasted nearly two hours, Capt. Grant was determined not to let the unusual catch get away.
However, they were aboard a small boat and getting the enormous fish to shore proved to be more difficult than reeling it in.
They decided to tie it to the boat and motor to shore, but the boat could hardly progress because of the weight of the fish.
[Related: Workman Brothers notch two giant blue catfish just three weeks apart]
So they decided that the sunfish had to be brought on board.
鈥淎nd after a lengthy period, and with water flooding into the boat, we finally brought it into the boat and set sail for Bryans Bay,鈥� Phillips said.
鈥淲hen I realized what it was that we had caught, I said to my partner, Michael Grant, who is the boat captain, maybe we should release it.鈥�
The two fishermen hooked the sunfish off Boston Bay and after a battle that lasted nearly two hours, Capt. Grant was determined not to let the unusual catch get away.
However, they were aboard a small boat and getting the enormous fish to shore proved to be more difficult than reeling it in.
They decided to tie it to the boat and motor to shore, but the boat could hardly progress because of the weight of the fish.
[Related: Workman Brothers notch two giant blue catfish just three weeks apart]
So they decided that the sunfish had to be brought on board.
鈥淎nd after a lengthy period, and with water flooding into the boat, we finally brought it into the boat and set sail for Bryans Bay,鈥� Phillips said.
Sunfish range throughout the world鈥檚 oceans, but they are not commonly encountered in Jamaican waters. And they鈥檙e quite the sight, roundish and blob-like, with truncated bodies, huge faces, and tiny mouths.
According to the Gleaner, word quickly spread of an 鈥渁lien-fish鈥� having been captured, and that lured dozens of curious people to the beach at Bryans Bay.
Many would eventually learn that these ocean sunfish, or Mola molas, can reach weights of 5,000 pounds, but are harmless omnivores that feed on sea jellies and other invertebrates.
鈥淭here is no need to fear it,鈥� said Andre Kong of Jamaica鈥檚 Fisheries Division. 鈥淭hey are very docile and you can dive with them.鈥�
For Phillips, according to the Jamaica Observer, it was his most exciting moment at sea since his catch of a 500-pound marlin two years earlier.