Strange Fish Washes Up on Plymouth Beach, Expect to See More

Strange creatures are washing up on SouthCoast beaches.

While a Plymouth man was enjoying a stroll on White Horse Beach, he stumbled upon an animal that seemed otherworldly.

What exactly was it and what is it doing in Plymouth?

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Paul DiFranco shared his findings online and his photo was met with several suggestions.

“(It’s a) monkfish, I found one a couple of years ago,” said an online user.

“It’s a torpedo ray,” said another.

From the looks of the photo, it almost seems like a water-logged sting ray.

The New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance (NECWA) provided the real answer.

What Is the New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance?

Through the Marine Misfits Research and Rescue program, the NECWA responds to any distressed and stranded marine wildlife on local beaches and specializes in marine wildlife that is not taken care of by other organizations in the area.

“These marine ‘misfits’ include basking sharks, torpedo rays, ocean sunfish, and trigger fish,” said the organization.

According to the NECWA, these misfit animals typically get stranded in the fall/winter.

“This program aims to rescue whenever possible, and when that is not possible, to learn all that we can about the stranded animal through on-site necropsies,” said the organization.

What Was Found on White Horse Beach?

NECWA encourages the community to report Marine Misfit Sightings of Atlantic Torpedo Rays and Ocean Sunfish.

“We run a telephone hotline for anyone to report distressed animals and we have sighting reports forms on our website," said the organization.

Torpedo rays can be two to five feet long, and thanks to the diagram provided by the experts, it's clear that DiFranco spotted a stranded torpedo ray.

If you are like DiFranco and come across a “misfit” animal in distress, report your findings to the NECWA.

New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance

(508) 566-0009

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Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall