Sunfishes or Molidae are a rarely encountered family within the teleost order Tetraodontiformes and most details of their reproductive biology including times and places of spawning and their larval ecology are rather unclear. Spawning of two species of Molidae was suggested in the Sargasso Sea before, yet comprehensive data on larval distribution from this area or elsewhere have never been published. Here we report on the abundance and size distribution of 383 sharptail mola (Masturus lanceolatus) and slender sunfish (Ranzania laevis) larvae, present novel information on their larval growth and development and test correlations with prevailing hydrographic data. Only 18 mostly larger Masturus larvae were caught evenly distributed over the study area and with no obvious hydrographic preferences. We conclude that there was no active spawning of M. lanceolatus in the area during the time of the cruise. In contrast, Ranzania larvae were caught primarily inside and south of a thermal frontal zone with increasing abundances toward warmer surface layers in the southeast of the study area. Due to the consistent presence of young Ranzania, it can be assumed that spawning activity was ongoing throughout the month of April, 2015. Our findings confirm the Sargasso Sea as a spawning area for R. laevis.

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There are more than 3,000 Atlantic salmon aquaculture sea-cages distributed along the coastline of Norway. Many of these sea-cages are located along the migration routes of wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) postsmolts. This study documents for the first time that wild Atlantic salmon postsmolts can enter sea-cages stocked with farmed Atlantic salmon. In addition, wild sea trout (Salmo trutta) and salmon/trout hybrid postsmolts were found inside the seacages. The extent of such "bycatch" in commercial aquaculture is vital knowledge for the conservation of Atlantic salmon and sea trout. Further studies are encouraged in order to evaluate the extent of this possible ghost fishing phenomena.