Konbu, that's no good.
A rare and gigantic fish known as a harbinger of doom has washed up on a California coast. This is the second time in just three months.
The carcass of an oarfish approximately 10 feet long. — Rumored to be a harbinger of an impending earthquake — It was discovered on the rocky shoreline of Grandview Beach in Encinitas. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego last week.
Researchers took the carcass back to the lab for preservation and to better study the biology, anatomy, genomics, and life history of this unlikely creature.
This is the second carcass of the 12-foot-long oarfish in the institute's collection, which was discovered in August by kayakers sailing through La Jolla Cove, 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Grandview Beach.
Oarfish live in the deep sea and are rarely seen by humans. Even their bodies rarely float in shallow water, making last week's discovery very strange.
Since 1901, only 20 oarfish have washed ashore across the state.
They are “surprisingly large and strange-looking fish” with long, silvery ribbon-like bodies that can reach lengths of up to 30 feet. According to Ocean Conservatory.
Oarfish have long been rumored to occur before natural disasters, especially earthquakes. And the La Jolla Cove doomsday fish was also discovered just two days before the magnitude 4.6 earthquake that shook Los Angeles.
However, researchers stressed that this claim has long been debunked and that recent oarfish sightings are not that ferocious.
“It may be related to changing ocean conditions and increasing numbers of oarfish off the coast,” said Ben Freble, manager of the Scripps Marine Marine Vertebrate Collection.
“Many researchers have suggested this as to why deep-sea fish wash up on beaches. In some cases, it may be related to broader changes such as El Niño or La Niña cycles, but it is always the case. “It's not necessarily the case,” he continued, referring to the warm and cool periods in the natural climate pattern across the tropical Pacific.
“We had a weak El Niño earlier this year. This stranding coincided with recent red tide and last week's Santa Ana winds, but many variables can lead to these strandings.”
