Ocean sunfish in Canadian Pacific waters: Summer hotspot for a jelly-eating giant?

With reports of increasing gelatinous zooplankton biomass in the east Bering Sea, the presence of one of the ocean´s largest jelly-eating predators, ocean sunfish Mola mola, in northeastern Pacific waters merits closer scrutiny. Using shipboard surveys and standard line-transect survey field protocols, the presence and absence of M. mola in the waters off British Columbia (Canada) were investigated over three consecutive summers between 2004 and 2006, and spring of 2007. A high-density region was located at the western edge of Queen Charlotte Sound during the summer months only. Key factors associated with this hotspot include elevated water temperature and complex bathymetry. This work establishes baseline data on an elusive yet consistent summer visitor to Canadian Pacific waters and a methodology for conducting additional M. mola distribution studies using surface surveys in other ocean regions.