TOURISTS STUNNED AS HUGE RARE FISH WASHES UP ON AUSTRALIAN BEACH

One of the world's largest and rarest fish species has washed up on the shore of a popular Australian beach, leaving tourists stunned.

The fish is well known as an ocean sunfish, and was found by tourists at the mouth of Kennett River on Victoria's south-west coast on Saturday.

Cath Rampton and her husband Tom said they were shocked when they came across the huge fish, which neither of them had seen before.

Ms Rampton told Daily Mail Australia that the fish measured around two metres in length and height, but it was still classified as small for its species seeing that they can grow up to 3 meters long and reach a height of 4.2 meters, which allows them to weigh up to 2.5 tonnes.

"My understanding is it's not a very big specimen, I think they can get up to double that size," she said.

The fish is known to live of a diet of squid and jelly fish which makes them vulnerable to eating plastic bags. The fish are considered a delicacy in some parts of Asia including Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Tourists, Tim Rothman and James Barham, found the fish on Monday and described it as "alien" in appearance. "We were walking along and saw this big lump on the sand. I've never seen anything like that before. It looked like an alien from a distance," Rothman explained.

Another sunfish was previously found by fisherman last year near the mouth of the River Murray, which is known to be a popular fishing and holiday destination in South Australia.

That sunfish was recorded to be around 2.5m in length and weighed several hundred kilograms.

Sunfish are found in tropical waters around the world and are often confused for sharks due to their fin.

+5Fish collection manager, Ralph Foster, from the South Australian Museum, previously explained why so many sunfish get washed up on the beach, and said that; "One of the big dangers would being hit by big boats at sea. They often eat plastic bags thinking they are jelly fish, which can kill them."

Mr Foster stated that he received reports of several Sunfish that have washed up on South Australian shores quite frequently. "They are actually quite common in Australian waters but they are generally further out to sea."