Scientists will be able to study the aquatic giant in more detail
Fishermen in several Asian countries consider an encounter with the «Doomsday fish» a bad omen. In fact, it is a harbinger of disaster. Usually, these aquatic inhabitants live in the depths, and their appearance on the surface, according to legend, is a sure sign of an impending earthquake or other catastrophe. The herring king (another name for this fish) has surfaced before, and recently the fish was found dead on the ocean surface off the coast of San Diego.
A rare 'doomsday fish' has been found floating dead on the ocean's surface, marine experts say off the coast of San Diego on Wednesday and was pulled ashore for study. The Daily Mail reports this.
The 10-foot-long fish was discovered by a group of snorkelers and kayakers in La Jolla Bay, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography said in a statement.
Legend has it that the fish are harbingers of earthquakes and other natural disasters, «though no correlation has been proven,» experts say. That's even after a magnitude 4.4 earthquake hit Los Angeles on Monday.
According to NBC San Diego, the quake came on the heels of another similar event, measuring 5.2, on August 6. Its epicenter was near Bakersfield and was felt across much of Southern California.
According to expert Ben Frable, this is only the 20th time since 1901 that the «doomsday fish» has washed up on California shores.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the fish can grow to be more than 20 feet long and typically live in the deep ocean where light cannot penetrate.
The «scary» fish was pulled out of La Jolla Bay using a paddleboard. The oarfish was then hauled into the back of a pickup truck.
Thanks to the efforts of local residents, scientists are now said to be able to study the mysterious fish in more detail. The specimen, the press writes, will become part of the marine vertebrate collection at Scripps.
Scientists, as well as researchers from NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center, plan to perform a necropsy on Friday to try to determine the cause of the fish's death.