RESIDENTS of the Hidden Paradise were astounded by the recent grounding of a school of sunfish on the shore at Savusavu last week.
Savusavu resident Eminoni Qiolevu said it was the first time for them to see the strange sight of the school of fish, which was the size of a fish head with fins only.
"A lady friend brought the fish home and this was the first time I ever saw a sunfish," he said.
Residents packed the shore on Wednesday evening to watch the school of fish as it swam around shallow waters.
Divisional fisheries officer northern Gerald Billings said the fish was not poisonous and was edible.
"It is often driven to shore by bad weather or disturbances in the seabed where they normally roam," said Mr Billings.
"The fish is not affected in any way by the visit of cruise liners."
Ocean sunfish — mola mola or common mola — is the heaviest known bony fish in the world with an average adult weight of 1000 kg (2200 lb).
The species is native to tropical and temperate waters around the globe and it resembles a fish head with a tail, and its main body is flattened laterally.
Sunfish lives on a diet that consists mainly of jellyfish, but because this diet is nutritionally poor, they consume large amounts in order to develop and maintain their great bulk.