‘Strange and mysterious’: rarely seen, 12ft-long oarfish found in waters off San Diego | California

A gaggle of individuals kayaking and snorkeling off the San Diego coast made an uncommon discovery after they got here throughout an oarfish, a not often seen deep sea fish that has washed up in California solely 20 occasions in over a century.

The 12ft-long silvery fish was discovered floating lifeless within the water final weekend. The group, together with marine specialists, helped convey the creature ashore for examine.

Oarfish have lengthy, ribbon-shaped our bodies, and might develop longer than 20ft (6 meters). They sometimes reside in an space of the deep sea known as the mesopelagic zone, the place gentle can not attain, in accordance with the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Noaa has described the fish as “unusual and mysterious” creatures that scientists know little about.

Oarfish are typically known as doomsday fish because of their legendary status as predictors of pure disasters or earthquakes.

Oarfish are recognized to have washed up in California solely 20 occasions since 1901, in accordance with Ben Frable, a fish skilled withthe Scripps Establishment of Oceanography.

The group who discovered the fish in La Jolla Cove, north of downtown San Diego, coordinated with lifeguards and marine specialists to retrieve the creature. Swimmers introduced the oarfish to shore atop a paddleboard and it was then transferred to the mattress of a pickup truck.

Scientists from Noaa Southwest Fisheries Science Heart and Scripps deliberate a necropsy on Friday to attempt to decide the reason for demise.