Rare Deep-Sea Fish Washes Ashore in California, Stirring Superstitions

The discovery of a second oarfish this year fuels myths about their link to impending natural disasters.

A dead oarfish, often dubbed the 'doomsday fish,' was found on a beach in Encinitas, California by a doctoral student from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
This is the second oarfish to be discovered along the California coast this year, a rare occurrence with only 21 documented sightings since 1901.
Oarfish are deep-sea creatures that typically inhabit depths between 200 and 1000 meters, making their appearance near the surface unusual and mysterious.
Historically, oarfish sightings have been linked to natural disasters, such as the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami, although scientific evidence for this connection is lacking.
Researchers suggest that changes in ocean conditions might be influencing the increased sightings, offering new opportunities to study these elusive fish.