Rare Deep-Sea Fish Known as Omen of Earthquakes Wash up on Japan’s Coast

Bank's Oarfish, circa 1850. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

A deep-sea fish said to be a harbinger of earthquakes and tsunamis has stirred up fears in Japan after a number were recently washed ashore.

The oarfish, which can reach over 30 feet in length, is thought to be behind some of the sea serpent myths of the west.

The Japanese word for this fish, ryugu no tsukai, means, “messenger from the palace of the dragon king.” According to folklore, the fish rise from the depths to the surface and beach themselves when an earthquake is coming.

Two oarfish were found washed ashore in the last few days, according to the Uoza Aquarium. The first, over 10 feet long, came ashore on Jan. 28. The second, nearly 13 feet long, washed ashore on Jan. 30.

A fifth Oarfish was found in Toyama Bay in the last fiscal year, the aquarium reported.

The previous record for the area was four in one year, according to the South China Morning Post.

Scientists say that there is no proof that Oarfish are able to predict natural disasters, though there are various theories as to how they might do so.

Sitting directly over the Pacific Ring of Fire, Japan is one of the most earthquake-prone countries in the world.

Spotted Before the Fukushima Earthquake

The news of oarfish rising to the surface prompted worried chatter on social media, according to the South China Morning Post.

The myth of the Oarfish solidified after the 2011 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami, which killed over 20,000 people. There were reports of at least a dozen oarfish washing up onto Japan’s coastline in the previous year.

Hiroyuki Motomura, a professor of ichthyology at Kagoshima University, told the South China Morning Post there is a more ordinary explanation for the fish appearing at Toyama bay.

“I have around 20 specimens of this fish in my collection so it’s not a very rare species, but I believe these fish tend to rise to the surface when their physical condition is poor, rising on water currents, which is why they are so often dead when they are found,” he said.

But, according to Rachel Grant, a lecturer in animal biology at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, it is “theoretically possible” that oarfish deaths could be a signal of earthquakes to come.

‘Sensitive to Active Faults’

“When an earthquake occurs there can be a build-up of pressure in the rocks which can lead to electrostatic charges that cause electrically-charged ions to be released into the water,” she told Euro News in 2017. “This can lead to the formation of hydrogen peroxide, which is a toxic compound. The charged ions can also oxidise organic matter which could either kill the fish or force them to leave the deep ocean and rise to the surface.”

“There is no scientific evidence at all for the theory that oarfish appear around big quakes,” Uozu Aquarium keeper Kazusa Saiba told CNN. “But we cannot 100 percent deny the possibility.”

Saiba said one possible explanation is subtle changes in the earth’s crust ahead of an earthquake “might cause the current to stir and push creatures at the bottom to the surface.”

Professor Shigeo Aramaki, a seismologist at the University of Tokyo, dismissed the fears of social media users as “nothing” according to the South China Morning Post.

“I’m not a specialist in fish, but there is no academic literature that has proven a scientific link to the behaviour of animals and seismic activity,” he said. “I see absolutely no reason for concern and I have seen no updated reports of increased seismic activity in this country in recent weeks.”

Kiyoshi Wadatsumi, a specialist in ecological seismology, told Japan Times in 2010, “Deep-sea fish living near the sea bottom are more sensitive to the movements of active faults than those near the surface of the sea.”

The species is characterized by long silver bodies and red fins—it is the longest bony fish in the world, with the longest specimen ever recorded being 35 feet.

Oarfish are extremely thin, from side to side. The maximum recorded weight of an oarfish is approximately 600 pounds (272 kg).