A giant dead fish was found on an Indonesian beach several days ago, triggering public concern because of long-standing legends linking the appearance of the creature, commonly dubbed the “Doomsday Fish”, with earthquakes.
Away from its mythological nickname, the creature is commonly known as an oarfish. Ribbon-like in appearance and measuring more than four metres long, the fish was discovered on Pink Beach along the south-eastern coast of Komodo Island. Beachgoers lifted the carcass from the sand and carried it further inland.
A legend rooted in Japanese folklore claims that an oarfish washing ashore may signal an impending destructive earthquake, tsunami or other disaster.
The belief dates back to at least the 17th century in Japan, but became particularly entrenched after nearly 20 so-called “Doomsday Fish” reportedly washed ashore several months before the massive 9.1-magnitude earthquake that struck near Japan’s Tohoku region in 2011.
That historic earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people.
Other cases have also fuelled the legend. Oarfish were reportedly sighted before a 2017 earthquake in the Philippines, while smaller incidents involving the fish have been recorded in Tasmania, India and California in recent years.
According to Indonesian local outlet Detik Bali, however, there is no scientific evidence linking the fish to natural disasters. Maritime authorities have rejected the alleged warning sign, describing the belief as nothing more than a superstition.
Scientific Study Finds No Evidence
A 2019 study published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America examined records of 336 deep-sea fish appearances in Japan alongside 221 earthquakes, looking for any temporal or geographical relationship between the two phenomena.
The researchers found no statistical evidence supporting the belief that the appearance of these fish could be used to predict earthquakes.
Some researchers have nevertheless argued that the environmental conditions surrounding such strandings deserve further investigation, suggesting that these factors warrant more attention than the legend itself.
In previous cases, Marc-André Gutscher, a marine geophysicist at France’s National Centre for Scientific Research, told AFP that fish appearing on shore could be associated with the El Niño phenomenon, during which surface waters become warmer than average while deeper waters become cooler than normal.
He explained that the phenomenon has no connection to seismic activity.
