KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 18 January)—A big sharptail mola that beached in Glan, Sarangani has died and will be preserved for posterity and study purposes, officials said Thursday.
Dr. Roy Mejorada, a veterinarian at the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape–Protected Area Management Office (SBPS–PAMO), said that fishermen saw the sharptail mola (Masturus lanceolatus) around 4 a.m. Wednesday stranded at the coast of Barangay Lago still alive but died moments later.
The fishermen immediately reported the beaching to the “Bantay Dagat” (Sea Guardians), which in turn notified the SBPS–PAMO.
“The fish was already very weak when the fishermen found it,” Mejorada said in a phone interview.
He said the sharptail mola weighs 120 kilograms, or more than two sacks of rice.
It reportedly measures 155 centimeters, or five feet long.
Mejorada noted the sharptail mola had no external wounds or internal bruises that would indicate it was harmed either by humans or ocean predators such as sharks.
Mejorada, who led the SBPS–PAMO team that responded to the beaching incident, said they brought the dead sharptail mola to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) wildlife rescue center in Alabel town, about one hour away from Glan municipality, for further examination.
“Upon necropsy, we found out its internal organs, especially the liver, were heavily infested by parasites present in the marine environment,” Mejorada said.
Joy Ologuin, head of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office in Glan, said the dead sharptail mola will be preserved for display and educational purposes.
Mejorada said the dead fish will be subjected to taxidermy, a way of preparing, stuffing and/or mounting an animal for display or study.
It was not the first time that a sharptail mola, classified as a species of “least concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, beached in the coast of Sarangani province.
Last year, a dead sharptail mola was swept in the coastline of Glan, Mejorada recalled, adding it was in the early stage of decomposition and was buried immediately. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
