{"id":296473,"date":"2026-01-10T12:34:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T10:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/?p=296473"},"modified":"2026-01-10T12:34:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T10:34:17","slug":"two-oceans-aquarium-rescues-one-ton-sunfish-in-cape-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/two-oceans-aquarium-rescues-one-ton-sunfish-in-cape-town\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Oceans Aquarium rescues one-ton sunfish in Cape Town"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Two Oceans Aquarium team began the new year by rescuing their largest sunfish yet, a one-ton fish trapped at Cape Town\u2019s Sturrock Dry Dock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Martine Viljoen, marine wildlife manager, said yesterday (Friday 9 January) they responded to a call on Thursday 1 January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis was a striking reminder of the incredible size these animals grow to, and a powerful way to start the New Year through collective teamwork in support of our marine wildlife rescue efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Guiding and lifting a one-ton sunfish out of a dry dock is a significant undertaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Its success relied on quick response, teamwork, and expertise from crane operation to wildlife rescue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once the sighting was confirmed, the dock drainage was halted to ensure sufficient water remained for the sunfish overnight, allowing Viljoen&#8217;s team to safely respond the following morning.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It quickly became clear that this was an exceptionally large animal, measuring 2.32m in length and 2.5m from fin tip to fin tip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-attachment-id=\"296476\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/two-oceans-aquarium-rescues-one-ton-sunfish-in-cape-town\/two-oceans-aquarium-7\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Two-Oceans-Aquarium-7.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1920\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.78&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 17 Pro&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1767274669&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;6.7649998656528&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;80&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00025297242600557&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Two Oceans Aquarium (7)\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;The sunfish was lifted to freedom into the port waters. Photo: Supplied&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;The sunfish was lifted to freedom into the port waters. Photo: Supplied&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Two-Oceans-Aquarium-7-1024x768.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Two-Oceans-Aquarium-7-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"Two Oceans Aquarium\" class=\"wp-image-296476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Two-Oceans-Aquarium-7-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Two-Oceans-Aquarium-7-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Two-Oceans-Aquarium-7-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The sunfish was lifted to freedom into the port waters. Photo: Supplied<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDue to the sheer size of the sunfish, we had to construct a custom rescue stretcher platform on site, utilising wooden pallets, scaffolding, chains, and other available materials,\u201d explained Viljoen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was done in collaboration with the dry dock team, whose extensive experience proved invaluable towards constructing the platform.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Viljoen expressed his gratitude to the Teemane Cranes, who generously donated the use of their&nbsp;crane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He explained that the rescue platform was lowered into the dry dock by crane, allowing the Aquarium team to guide the sunfish onto it. The sunfish was lifted out of the dry dock and lowered back into the water on the other side of the caisson (dry dock door).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Throughout the process, the sunfish\u2019s breathing was monitored and the team ensured water was moving across its gills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-attachment-id=\"296475\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/two-oceans-aquarium-rescues-one-ton-sunfish-in-cape-town\/two-oceans-aquarium-6\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Two-Oceans-Aquarium-6.jpeg\" data-orig-size=\"960,1280\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1767280815&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Two Oceans Aquarium\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;As part of the rescue efforts for a 1-ton sunfish on New Years Day, Teemane Cranes generously donated the use of their crane and operator on a public holiday to lift the sunfish out of the dry dock. &lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;As part of the rescue efforts for a 1-ton sunfish on New Years Day, Teemane Cranes generously donated the use of their crane and operator on a public holiday to lift the sunfish out of the dry dock. Photo: Supplied&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Two-Oceans-Aquarium-6-768x1024.jpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Two-Oceans-Aquarium-6-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"Two Oceans Aquarium\" class=\"wp-image-296475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Two-Oceans-Aquarium-6-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Two-Oceans-Aquarium-6-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Two-Oceans-Aquarium-6.jpeg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">As part of the rescue efforts for a 1-ton sunfish on New Years Day, Teemane Cranes generously donated the use of their crane and operator on a public holiday to lift the sunfish out of the dry dock. Photo: Supplied<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the sunfish&#8217;s flight and re-entry to water, the <a href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/two-oceans-aquariums-trash-bash-marks-a-key-milestone-at-muizenberg-beach-cape-town-20231113\/\">Aquarium<\/a> team entered the water to untie the restraints securing the sunfish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They then swam alongside the sunfish as they guided it towards deeper water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI would like to acknowledge dock master Johan Coetzee and the dry dock team for alerting us to the sunfish\u2019s presence during dock drainage and for facilitating an effective rescue effort,\u201d said Viljoen.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Claire Taylor, interactive exhibits and marine animal welfare specialist for the Two Oceans Aquarium, said during storms or rough conditions, sunfish may seek calmer waters, which can result in them becoming disoriented or trapped in harbour basins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every summer this occurs at the Waterfront and Simonstown harbours. They start appearing in October\/November and are often sighted right through to May\/June the following year. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe always respond to these calls and try to assist where possible,\u201d said The Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation is actively involved in sunfish rescue, research, and citizen science, working to track sightings to improve understanding of species distribution along the coastline.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a sunfish is seen in a harbour or along the coast, the public can report sightings with date, location (GPS if possible), and photos via: WhatsApp&nbsp;076 092 8573&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Two Oceans Aquarium team began the new year by rescuing their largest sunfish yet, a one-ton fish trapped at Cape Town\u2019s Sturrock Dry 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This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Two Oceans Aquarium rescues one-ton sunfish in Cape Town | People&#039;s Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Two Oceans Aquarium team began the new year by rescuing their largest sunfish yet, a one-ton fish trapped at Cape Town\u2019s Sturrock Dry Dock.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/two-oceans-aquarium-rescues-one-ton-sunfish-in-cape-town\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Two Oceans Aquarium rescues one-ton sunfish in Cape Town\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Two Oceans Aquarium team began the new year by rescuing their largest sunfish yet, a one-ton fish trapped at Cape Town\u2019s Sturrock Dry Dock.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/two-oceans-aquarium-rescues-one-ton-sunfish-in-cape-town\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"People&#039;s Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PeoplesPostNewsPaper\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-10T10:34:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-10T10:34:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Two-Oceans-Aquarium-2.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"People&#039;s Post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" 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