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Rare sunfish washes up on Scottish beach
Sunfish are distinctive, bony fish that can weigh up to a tonne.
Species normally resides in water that is warmer than 10°C.

A strange-looking fish that can grow up to four metres in length has washed up on a beach in Scotland.

Experts from the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) were called out to the Moray Firth on Wednesday (23 September), where an ocean sunfish had washed up on Rosemarkie beach.

While sunfish are occasionally seen off the coast of the Hebrides, they are are a rare sight on Scotland's east coast.

“They are not uncommon visitors to the UK in the summer months, but most sightings have been off the Atlantic coast, so an animal apparently feeding well this far up the North Sea coast is quite unusual,” said Dr Andrew Brownlow, head of SMASS - part of Scotland's Rural College.

“Over the years SMASS has recorded a gradual increase of warm water species in more northern latitudes, probably driven by changes in prey distribution and a plausible indicator of a changing ocean climate.”

The distinctive sunfish is one of the heaviest bony fish in the world, growing to 3.3 metres in length and weighing up to a tonne. Listed as Vulnerable on the ICUN Red List, the species normally lives in water that is warmer than 10°C.

Dr Brownlow said there wasn’t an obvious reason for this particular stranding.

“There doesn’t appear to be obvious trauma, for example from bycatch in fishing gear, boat strike or even bottlenose dolphin attacks, so it may be it simply followed prey too close to the shore and was left by the falling tide,” he said.

The sunfish is being sent to the National Museums Scotland in Edinburgh where an investigation will seek to establish what it had been eating, check for any ingested marine debris and collect samples for genetics and stable isotope analysis.

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.