The Los Angeles Post
U.S. World Business Lifestyle
Today: April 11, 2025
Today: April 11, 2025

A rarely seen deep sea fish is found in California, and scientists want to know why

California Rare Fish
August 15, 2024
AP - AP

SAN DIEGO (AP) โ€” A rarely seen deep sea fish resembling a serpent was found floating dead on the ocean surface off the San Diego coast and was brought ashore for study, marine experts said.

The silvery, 12-foot-long (3.6-meter) oarfish was found last weekend by a group of snorkelers and kayakers in La Jolla Cove, north of downtown San Diego, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography said in a statement.

It's only the 20th time an oarfish is known to have washed up in California since 1901, according to institution fish expert Ben Frable.

A rarely seen deep sea fish is found in California, and scientists want to know why
California Rare Fish

Scripps noted that oarfish have a mythical reputation as predictors of natural disasters or earthquakes, although no correlation has been proven.

Oarfish can grow longer than 20 feet (6 meters) and normally live in a deep part of the ocean called the mesopelagic zone, where light cannot reach, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Swimmers brought the La Jolla Cove oarfish to shore atop a paddleboard. It was then transferred to the bed of a pickup truck.

Scientists from NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center and Scripps planned a necropsy on Friday to try to determine the cause of death.

Related Articles

Quake prompts brief tsunami warning on the West Coast. Here's what to know about tsunamis The world has been warming faster than expected. Scientists now think they know why โ€˜Doomsday fishโ€™ returns to Southern California shores for the third time this year โ€˜Mystery molluskโ€™ found in the oceanโ€™s midnight zone is unlike anything researchers have seen before
Share This

Access this article for free.

Already have an account? Sign In