Cruel angler 'rides' a Mola Mola - needs to be named and shamed

[Hank49]

I love this argument ...

It's the one always used by "sport" fishermen when they haul a mature, 700 pound, pregnant shark out and hang it from the dock. "Hey, look at me! Look what I killed!" Then you call them on it and they say, "What's the big deal? It's only one fish!"

You're either a part of the problem or part of the solution ... pick one.

I didn't see anyone kill the fish.
It is a very interesting interaction. I hunt fish every week. 100 lb and larger fish fear people. They pick up on the fact that we're predators and make it very challenging to get close to them.
I've never encountered this species but it would seem that, as someone mentioned, it may have been looking for a "cleaning station" to rub off parasites. Or, it wasn't healthy and didn't have the energy to escape. If that fish didn't want that guy on its back it could have easily gotten away if it was a healthy fish.

 

[toddthecat]

I've never encountered this species but it would seem that, as someone mentioned, it may have been looking for a "cleaning station" to rub off parasites.

The guy definitely appeared to have rubbed one off

 

[Tom Winters]

I wouldn't have climbed on the fish. No one is mentioning the fact that Cliff in the video is going to get a real nasty infection from the barnacle scrapes and probably lose his Anthony. It's going to be embarrassing, wicked painful, and kinda comical, all at the same time.
I, with more compassion than probably everyone else reading this thread, will gladly PayPal a dollar to Cliff's addadictome fund when the appeal comes out.

 

[chillyinCanada]

TODD! I just squirted iced tea through my nose and I wasn't even drinking any.

Hank, please do some research on sunfish.

 

[Hank49]

Yeah, Cliff was kind of dumb****. Everyone knows real cowboys use chaps and spurs. Or at least a wetsuit....

chillyinCanada, I have read quite a bit about them. What are suggesting that I'm missing?

 

[Zippsy]

That they are living animals.

 

[divewench1]

I've never encountered this species but it would seem that, as someone mentioned, it may have been looking for a "cleaning station" to rub off parasites. If that fish didn't want that guy on its back it could have easily gotten away if it was a healthy fish.

Judging by the size of the Mola2 in the video, it was a juvenile, adult Mola are much much larger, so maybe it had never come across a human before, we'll never know.

Mola are gentle, shy but curious, which may have been the reason it was checking out the anglers boat. There are also stories of them rubbing against the bottom of a stationary boat in order to remove the parasites.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Hank49

chillyinCanada, I have read quite a bit about them. What are suggesting that I'm missing?[/QUOTE]

The reading I've done suggests that sunfish cannot easily maneuvre their bodies and that even at their fastest, they aren't that zippy.

Oh, and you can call me "chilly".

 

[miketsp]

When I first read about this event and saw the clip my first reaction was outrage. But after reading various reports and one of the interviews, the key point that came across was that the fish could easily have swum off after the first contact but in actual fact came back 4 times for more and appeared to be using the boat and the swimmer as a "cleaning station". That doesn't sound like stressed behaviour to me.

It gives me the impression that the fish was quite happy to have someone rubbing its back and sides.

 

[highdesert]

Do you think that, when they encountered the mola mola, Cliff the cowboy said to himself, “Hmm … I think that fish has parasites on its back. I believe I’ll help it relieve its condition.”? Me either. I think Cliff was just a cowboy out for a cheap thrill, and on a bet at that. The idea that he had that mindset disturbs me more that the act itself. Personally, I think this mola mola appears distressed from the encounter.

Do you think if he had come across a manatee (endangered) on the surface, that he would have restrained himself from climbing aboard? I doubt it. For $20, I think Cliff would ride anything he could get away with. To me, this video does nothing more than give ignorant people like Cliff permission to continue harassing animals, marine or otherwise.