There are many things that wash up on Catalina Island every day.
They range from kelp to drift wood to plastic to an 18-foot fish.
On Oct. 13, a researcher who was snorkeling discovered something unusual and quite rare –an 18-foot oarfish.
Curiously enough, another oarfish washed up in Oceanside, San Diego within the same week.
The oarfish is an extremely rare fish that lives in very deep waters, so scientists seldom see it and know next to nothing about it.
This occurrence is a once in a lifetime opportunity for scientists to study and expand the realm of knowledge about this rare fish.
Scientists are unsure about why the two oarfish washed up; however, some speculate that the oarfish were most likely caught in a current that dragged them from their natural habitat. These habitats range from a few hundred feet to 3,000 feet deep to shallower waters, in which they were not adapted to living. They died shortly after.
Recent information, found after dissecting the fish, has shown the cause of death for the oarfish found in Catalina.
They found several large tapeworms and a spiny-headed worm embedded in the fish.
These parasites could help researchers learn about these large fish.
The oarfish found in Catalina was 18-feet long and took 15 people to carry it from its watery grave to shore, while the one found in Oceanside was 13.5 feet long.
The oarfish can reach up to 50 feet in length.
This rarely seen fish has influenced folklore such as the Loch Ness Monster and predicting earthquakes.
“It is easy to see how earlier cultures might ascribe magical and fantastical explanation of them, especially if they are rarely seen,” said Science Instructor Mr. Landon Neustadt.
The oarfish is the longest known bony fish in the world.
In Japanese folklore, oarfish are known to be the harbingers of earthquakes and tsunamis.
20 oarfish were found on Japanese beaches in 2011, shortly before the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that devastated the island.
Scientists wonder if this fish can sense the tremors of a coming natural disaster or if it is just a giant coincidence.
Earlier this year, sea lions were beaching in record numbers, and another rare fish, Stejneger’s beaked whale, also washed ashore in mid-October.
Does this mean that a massive earthquake or a tsunami is looming?