Is Raining Fish Possible? Spangled Perch Are Falling From Sky in a Remote Area in Australia

In a remote town in Australia, it hasn't been raining cats and dogs but fish. Yes, fish have been falling down from the sky and they don't know why.

Raining Fish in Australia

In the town of Lajamanu, a small community in the arid Northern Territory, around 560 miles south of Darwin, a big storm was heading to the community. Lajamanu local and Central Desert councilor Andrew Johnson Japanangka told Australian ABC News that when it started raining, they noticed that fish were also falling down from the sky.

According to Queensland Museum ichthyologist Jeff Johnson, the fish were spangled perch and they were about the size of a child's palm. They had fallen overnight and the people woke up the following day finding them scattered around the town. Many of them were still alive.

Japanangka said some were found in a puddle of water. Some children also picked them up and kept them in a bottle or a jar.

Spangled perch also known as spangled grunters are one of the most common species of freshwater fish in Australia. Most measure around 6 inches long but they can grow up to 10 inches.

The experts cannot explain the phenomenon, but it wasn't reportedly the first time that it happened.

History of Fish Shower In Australia

The bizarre event was not unprecedented. According to ABC News, the same phenomenon occurred in Lajamanu in 2010. It was also reported in 2004 and as far back as 1974. The recent incident was probably the fourth time it happened.

Alice Springs local Penny McDonald recounted when she witnessed the same event in the mid-198s. She remembered waking up one morning and seeing the streets covered with fish. There was reportedly a lot of small fish.

McDonald said she just recounted the strange weather event to a friend a few days ago and now it happened.

The incident was not isolated to Lajamanu because in 2020. A similar incident was reported from the Queensland town of Yowah, 950km west of Brisbane, ABC News said in a separate report.

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Yowah caravan park owner, Rick Shiells, witnessed the strange sight. At first, he saw a little fish about an inch long swimming in the puddle, then he found more - alive and dead - along the way. Some of them were 70 millimeters long.

He was convinced that the fish come from the sky and may have been carried by a hurricane or tornado. Johnson also identified the fish as spangled perch.

Possible Reason Behind The Raining Fish

Johnson believed it was likely that the fish were stuck in small, isolated waterholes that dried up as the drought wore on. When it rained, the fish took it as an opportunity to spread their wings because the rain gave them an incredible urge to disperse.

Johnson added that waterspouts occasionally sucked fish into the clouds and dumped them. However, he said that it rarely happens and involves smaller fish.