A threatened ocean sunfish has been caught by fishermen in the north-central province of Nghe An.

The fish’s body, about 1 metric ton in weight, was entangled in the nets of Dao Van Huan and his crew during their journey to the Gulf of Tonkin on August 10.

Huan also netted another one, alive and weighing about 200kg, the same day and returned the creature to the ocean.

Tran Van Nguyen, chairman of the Nghe An People’s Committee, said Sunday that Tuan and his crew had donated the fish body to the Vietnam National Museum of Nature for research and exhibition purposes.

Nguyen added that Tuan had captured four individuals of the species two weeks ago and had handed their bodies over to the same museum.

Considered the heaviest known bony fish in the world, the ocean sunfish has an average adult weight of 247-1,000 kg.

Its body, resembling a fish head with a tail, is recognized with a laterally flattened shape.

The species is listed in the vulnerable category of the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. It is also included in Vietnam’s Red Book.

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