Second Rare Deep-Sea 'Doomsday Fish' Found In San Diego County

ENCINITAS, CA — For the third time this year, a rarely seen deep-sea fish washed ashore in Southern California.

Scripps Oceanography PhD candidate Alison Laferriere found a dead oarfish, nicknamed the "doomsday fish," on Nov. 6 at Grandview Beach in Encinitas, according to Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. It was the second time this year that an oarfish was found in San Diego County.

The fish measured roughly 9 to 10 feet long and was a bit smaller than the previous fish found in August by a team of science-minded kayakers and snorkelers in the water at La Jolla Cove. That adult male oarfish measured 12.25 feet in length and weighed 74.3 pounds, according to Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Another oarfish was found in September in Huntington Beach.

The latest fish marks only the 22nd-recorded oarfish to have washed up in California since 1901. It was unclear why three oarfish have been discovered in recent months, according to Ben Frable, manager of the Scripps Oceanography Marine Vertebrate Collection, which houses one of the largest collections of deep-sea fish in the world.

"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. "Sometimes it may be linked to broader shifts such as the El Niño and La Niña cycle but this is not always the case. There was a weak El Niño earlier this year. This wash-up coincided with the recent red tide and Santa Ana winds last week but many variables could lead to these strandings."

Frable contacted the NOAA Fisheries West Coast team to recover the specimen and transport it to the Southwest Fisheries Science Center, according to Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

"We took samples and froze the specimen awaiting further study and final preservation in the Marine Vertebrate Collection," Frable said. "Like with the previous oarfish, 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."

Often described as sea serpents, oarfish can grow to lengths of 30 feet and are the longest bony fish in the world. Oarfish live in deep ocean water at depths from 650 to 3,300 feet.

Although no correlation has been proven, oarfish have a mythical reputation as predictors of natural disasters such as earthquakes.

The sight of them in shallow waters is an omen of earthquakes, according to Japanese legend. In 2011, 20 oarfish washed ashore in Japan in the months leading up to the deadly 9.1-magnitude earthquake.

Also see:

• Rare Deep-Sea 'Doomsday Fish' Found In Southern California
• Scientists Study Rare Deep-Sea 'Doomsday Fish' Found In San Diego