Doomsday fish

 

Yes, oarfish. That´s the new apocalyptic sign, apparently. From a channel which previously promoted the idea that 3I/ATLAS is alien tech and that the Blood Moon was some kind of doomsday event. And yet, here we are. And how many stranded oarfish are we talking about, anyway? Two? Three??

Here is ChatGPT.

Are oarfish known as "doomsday fish" and associated with earthquakes and tsunamis?

Yes — the fish you’re thinking of is the Oarfish, and it is often called a “doomsday fish.” But the reputation is mostly folklore rather than science.

Why oarfish are called “doomsday fish”

In parts of East Asia, especially Japan, oarfish are traditionally believed to predict earthquakes or tsunamis. In Japanese folklore they are called Ryūgū-no-tsukai, meaning “Messenger from the Sea God’s Palace.”

The idea is that when these deep-sea fish appear near the surface or wash ashore, it signals that something is wrong beneath the ocean floor.

This belief gained attention after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, because several oarfish had washed up on Japanese beaches in the preceding years.

Why people connect them with earthquakes

There are a few speculative reasons people propose:

• Deep-sea disturbance theory – If tectonic activity changes pressure or releases chemicals, deep-sea animals might become disoriented and rise toward the surface.

• Rare sightings – Oarfish normally live hundreds of meters deep, so when one appears it seems mysterious or ominous.

• Sea-serpent appearance – Their long ribbon-like body (sometimes over 10 m long) historically inspired myths about sea monsters.

What science says

Scientists have actually tested the idea.
A statistical study in 2019 concluded that the link between oarfish sightings and earthquakes is an “illusory correlation.”

In other words:

• Earthquakes happen all the time, so coincidences occur.

• Oarfish occasionally wash up because they are sick, dying, or injured, not because of seismic events.

Bottom line

• Folklore: Oarfish = omen of earthquakes or tsunamis.

• Science: No reliable evidence of any predictive relationship.

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Interestingly, because of their strange appearance and deep-sea habitat, oarfish are also one of the animals often proposed as a historical source for sea-serpent legends.

If you want, I can also show you:

• why deep-sea fish sometimes suddenly appear near the surface, or

• some other animals that people historically believed could predict earthquakes (there are several fascinating ones).