A dead oarfish found along the Southern California coast marks the state’s third sighting of the so-called “doomsday fish” this year.
The roughly 10-foot oarfish was discovered on Nov. 6. at a beach in Encinitas, around 25 miles north of San Diego. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography said PhD candidate Alison Laferriere spotted the fish wash up on shore.
While it’s just one of three peculiar appearances in California over the past few months, Japanese folklore considers the rare sighting a symbol of impending doom.
The sight of a “doomsday fish” in shallow waters serves as an omen of an impending earthquake dating back to 17th century Japan, according to travel outlet Atlas Obscura.
Japanese folklore indicates the fish belonged to servants of the sea god Ryūjin. Hence the fish are also known as “ryugu no tsukai,” which translates to “messenger from the sea god’s palace.”
How did the oarfish die?
It’s unclear how the rare oarfish washed along the Encinitas shore this month but the elusive specimen will undergo a necropsy to determine cause of death.
It will later be preserved for future study, becoming part of the Scripps’ Marine Vertebrate Collection, one of the largest collections of deep-sea fish in the world.
“We took samples and froze the specimen awaiting further study and final preservation in the Marine Vertebrate Collection,” Scripps’ in-house fish expert Ben Frable said in a statement shared on social media. “This specimen and the samples taken from it will be able to tell us much about the biology, anatomy, genomics and life history of oarfishes.”
Where were the last Doomsday sightings?
In August, a 12-foot-long oarfish was recovered by a group of “sciencey” kayakers and snorkelers swimming at La Jolla Cove in San Diego.
Frable said a second dead oarfish was found in Orange County’s Huntington Beach in September, according to CNN.
The deep-sea fish are considered “incredibly rare” since less than 25 have been seen in Southern California waters in over a century, Frable previously told USA TODAY.
These majestic creatures have been spotted in waters all over the world, with sightings also reported in Maine, New Jersey, Taiwan and Japan.
What do scientists say dead oarfish sightings mean?
Scientists are unable to theorize the reason why three oarfish have washed ashore in the last few months, saying that each specimen collected provides a unique opportunity to learn more about the species.
Especially since there is more than one variable at play in the so-called “strandings” of the oarfish, including shifts in the climate patterns of El Niño and La Niña, Frable said last week.
“It may have to do with changes in ocean conditions and increased numbers of oarfish off our coast. Many researchers have suggested this as to why deep-water fish strand on beaches,” Frable said. “This wash-up coincided with the recent red tide and Santa Ana winds last week but many variables could lead to these strandings.”
Many regions in California, including Encinitas and La Jolla, have been classified as Marine Protected Areas, where taking organisms is prohibited.
Should you encounter a unique creature on a Southern California beach, you are encouraged to alert lifeguards and contact the Scripps Institution of Oceanography by phone at (858)-534-3624 or via email at [email protected].
Why were multiple spotted in 2011?
There were multiple sightings of the fish reported ahead of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and Fukishima nuclear disaster, but there is no scientific evidence to suggest that the two events are connected, Hiroyuki Motomura, a professor of ichthyology at Kagoshima University, told the New York Post last year.
“There is no scientific evidence of a connection, so I don’t think people need to worry,” Motomura said. “I believe these fish tend to rise to the surface when their physical condition is poor, rising on water currents, which is why they are so often dead when they are found.”
The “connection” between the two might have to do with the fact that the shimmery creature typically lives in the deep sea, dwelling anywhere between 700 and 3,280 feet below the surface, USA TODAY previously reported. And it rarely comes up to the surface.
