The team has tagged three molas in California and two in Taiwan. It plans to tag two more in Taiwan, two in Japan, and one each in South Africa and Australia or New Zealand.

Thys hopes the data will provide the first-ever baseline biological data on molas, offering insights into how they migrate, whether there are interactions between regional populations, and where they are spawning.

"With increasing threat to the molas, it is important to get this data before it is too late," says Thys.

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