Something fishy is going on. For the third time in three months in 2024, an oarfish, known as the “doomsday fish,” has washed ashore in Southern California. The oarfish lives in deep waters and usually stays there; although, there are quite a few images of oarfish and people online, so the doomsday fish doesn’t seem as rare as indicated in news headlines. Oarfish can grow over 30 feet long and have a slender, silver body with a red crest on their head and red comb down their spine. The ribbon-like fish has been seen swimming vertically and it’s thought this is a feeding posture—it also makes the oarfish look like a sea serpent or monster. The oarfish was deemed a sign of doom by Japanese folklore and called a “Messenger from the Sea God’s Palace.” The appearance of an oarfish on land is thought to predict earthquakes, as well as tsunamis or other natural disasters. In 2011, one of the worst earthquakes in Japan’s history occurred after 20 oarfish, an unheard-of high number, had washed ashore. While scientist state there is no connection between oarfish and earthquakes, there is a hypothesis that the deep-sea fish may have a sensitivity to changes in the ocean that allow it to be a harbinger of earthquakes. Anyone who believes in signs knows that a doomsday fish isn’t something a state prone to “the Big One” wants to see on its shores.
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Enjoyed this article. It was very informative and well written. Now, let’s hope this is not a precursor to an earthquake!
This historical folklore is very interesting. Messages from Mother Nature can be ominous. For SoCal inhabitants to see the Oarfish washing up on shore would be a scary sign indeed. Doomsday? Oh, my!