It measured nearly three feet in diameter, a remarkable find indeed what’s more, it hadn’t been dead long, and was completely intact, for the gulls had not yet found it. The largest ocean sunfish ever caught was in 1910 that weighed 3,500 pounds! Sometimes, they wash ashore during storms, as the one I found most likely did. Adults can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds. It is the heaviest “bony” fish in the world.

The ocean sunfish will often bask on the surface, where it will leisurely drift for miles. I’d come upon an ocean sunfish, the Mola mola a large, deep-sea, flat fish that’s often described as simply a fish that is all “head and tail.” It is an odd, but amazing looking creature. Such was the time when I was combing the sands in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Strandlines are delightful, for one never knows what the tide will wash in. And, oh, what a thrill of finding such a wonderful, living treasure!

Being deep-water creatures, it’s rare to find them along the beach. There are approximately 200 species of nudibranchs in the Pacific Northwest most are decorative and colorful, living works of art some are smooth, some wear ruffles, and others sport soft tubular-like hairs like the one I had found. They were the vibrant colors worn by a small sea creature-a shell-less, slug-like mollusk called a nudibranch. Or was it? Something bright caught my eye shades of ruby, sapphire, amethyst, emerald, and gold. If there had been a treasure inside, it was gone now. The metal box had no lid and was filled with seawater, sand, and barnacles. It was secured to a barnacle-covered rock (about the size of a bowling ball) and packed in wet sand. Only a foot and a half long, it wasn’t much bigger than those rubber toy white sharks sold in gift shops along the coast.Īnother time, farther south, in Seaside, Oregon, I found a small metal box on the beach. Its mouth, slightly ajar, revealed rows of sharp, pearly white teeth. I doubt it had been dead long, for it was fully intact, and looked like it could come alive at any moment. But what I considered the best find, was the baby shark that had washed ashore.

The urchins were a nice find, as they are not at all common on Oregon beaches. Along the strandline were shells, urchins, and seaweeds, and a colorful display of sea stars on the pilings. One time up north, in the charming town of Coupeville on Whidbey Island, Washington, was a tiny beach. Stonefield Beach (with Ten Mile Creek in the distance) in Yachats-Oregon Coastįor me, the highlight of any beach trip is walking the strandlines, and exploring the tide pools something I’ve been enjoying since I was old enough to walk.

Nori in tidal pools