A group of fishermen has caught an incredibly long fish that is also known as the "King of the Herrings" off the coast of Chile. They took the mythical deepwater sea creature to the shore, where curious residents in the city of Arica flocked. The controversial fish is filled with conspiracy theories describing it as a "bad omen" that signals impending doom.
The footage of the fish was shared on TikTok, showing its long, bony body with a hook on its head as the fishermen transferred it to the land. The fish measures about 16 feet (5 meters) long.
Legendary Deepwater King of Herrings Caused Worry in the Public
The rare deepwater fish, also known as the oarfish, has become part of a folk legend because of their supposed fortune-telling powers. According to Daily Star, dozens of oarfish were seen in Japan way before the Fukushima earthquake, which resulted in a tsunami.
The new video of the oarfish caught in Chile has now racked up 10 million likes, but people in the comment section have raised their concerns, fearing that it could be a sign that an earthquake will happen.
@l0st__sheep Have YOU heard of a OARFISH? The ocean hasn’t been explored throughly & we keep finding strange sea creatures! #ocean #unexplored #seacreatures #wtf #oarfish #strangerthings #fy ♬ original sound - L0st__sheep
Some comments were about how scary and amazing the fish looked, and some say that the oarfish went to the surface because it started to feel some movements in tectonic plates. Meanwhile, others were more pessimistic as they believed that whoever found such fish would be cursed and even blamed the fishermen for capturing it.
The oarfish live in deep water and only go to the surface if they are sick, dying, or during breeding. That is why some people speculated that these mythical fish only goes to the surface if something is wrong with the weather or under the depths of the oceans.
Oarfish Behavior: Study Finds they Do Not Predict Earthquakes
According to British Sea Fishing, oarfish (Regalecus glesne) is also known as Giant Ribbonfish, Earthquake Fish, Bank's Ribbon-fish and are found in all seas and oceans except for the polar regions despite being rarely seen.
They have long, slim, tapering scaleless bodies covered in bright reflective silver and sometimes pecked with black dots. Also, their body features include a large red dorsal fin, two smaller pectoral fins, and a head with a toothless mouth and wide circular eyes.
Although Japanese folklore says that these long, serpent-like fish emerge from the depths signals earthquakes, seismologist Yoshiaki Orihara says that the association between the two phenomena is hard to prove.
Their study, titled "Is Japanese Folklore Concerning Deep‐Sea Fish Appearance a Real Precursor of Earthquakes? " published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, reveals that a relationship between deep‐sea fish appearances and earthquakes was hardly found.
That means that the Japanese folklore about these phenomena is just a superstition. Until scientists learn more about the behavior and ecology of the oarfish, then it might be possible to give a detailed explanation of their sudden appearances on the surface.
Read also: 12-Foot Sea Serpent Washed Up Ashore in New Zealand: Is It a Sign of an Upcoming Disaster?
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