Rare ‘Doomsday’ Oarfish Surfaces in California, Just the 20th Discovered in the State Since 1901

A group of kayakers and snorkelers were enjoying a relaxing day in California’s La Jolla Cove earlier this month when they spotted something unusual floating atop the water: the body of an enormous fish that usually lives as far as 3,280 feet below the surface.

The out-of-place creature was an oarfish (Regalecus glesne), a long, slender, serpent-like fish that typically inhabits deep-sea, open-ocean environments. This particular oarfish measured 12 feet long—though the biggest of the species can grow up to 36 feet long.

It’s one of just 20 oarfish that have washed up in California since 1901, according to a Facebook post from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego.

After finding the carcass on August 10, the friends—many of whom work in marine science—contacted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries Service and California Sea Grant (a collaboration between the federal government, the state of California and California’s universities).

With help from those two organizations, along with lifeguards and some passing paddleboarders, the group successfully transported the fish to shore and took it to a NOAA facility.

“Our small group had the mission of getting this unwieldy animal to the kayak launch,” kayaker Emily Miller, a researcher at California Sea Grant, tells the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Maura Fox. “It was a community effort to get a rare specimen to scientists. … It was a beautiful example of teamwork.”

Last weekend, some lucky kayakers and snorkelers came across a rare deep-sea dwelling fish in La Jolla Cove. The seagoers spotted a 12-foot #oarfish and to give you an idea of how rare this encounter is, only 20 oarfish have washed up in California since 1901! pic.twitter.com/fDL3AWPOFq

— Scripps Institution of Oceanography (@Scripps_Ocean) August 14, 2024

Scientists conducted a necropsy, but they couldn’t discern a reason for the elusive fish’s death. They will also look at which isotopes are present in muscle and gill samples taken from the oarfish, which might reveal new insights about the food web and the ocean more broadly, per the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Eventually, the fish will likely make its way to the Scripps Institution’s Marine Vertebrate Collection for further study.

“People have studied them, but we’ve very rarely interacted with them alive in their natural habitat,” says Ben Frable, who manages the Scripps Institution collection, to the Los Angeles Times’ Grace Toohey.

Frable adds that oarfish have always been “fish of interest,” thanks to their long, silvery bodies, large eyes and red crests.

“It definitely looks fanciful,” he says to the L.A. Times. “It evokes the sea serpent mythology.”

Oarfish have long played a role in Japanese folklore, according to Atlas Obscura’s Roxanne Hoorn. As the legend goes, oarfish on the beach or in shallow waters are a sign of bad things to come—usually a natural disaster, such as an earthquake. They’re sometimes referred to as “doomsday fish.”

In 17th-century Japanese mythology, the fish were known as “ryugu no tsukai,” which means “messenger from the sea god’s palace.” Oarfish are believed to be servants of the sea god Ryujin, who sends them up from the depths to warn of impending doom.

Twenty of the fish reportedly washed up on beaches in the months before the deadly earthquake that struck Japan in March 2011. And the California oarfish surfaced two days before a 4.4-magnitude earthquake rattled Los Angeles.

But while the mythical connection between oarfish and earthquakes remains strong, scientists have “debunked this as folklore,” according to the Scripps Institution. A 2019 study found no link between oarfish strandings and earthquakes in Japan.

Scientists aren’t totally sure why oarfish and other deep-sea-dwelling creatures sometimes surface, but they suspect the animals may be disoriented, sick or injured. La Jolla Shores, for instance, is located near two underwater canyons that bring deep water to the surface, which may help explain the recent oarfish sighting.

“Their long, ribbon-like body is not well-suited for swimming in surface or near shore currents, so it’s easily swept towards shore,” Frable tells the Washington Post’s Adela Suliman.

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Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.