An Earthquake is feared to take place in Peru soon after an Oarfish was caught off the town of Mancora, a popular surfing resort in Peru. Oarfish is a deep-sea fish which is believed to be the harbinger of Tsunami. It was previously spotted at the shores of Japan and now the Tsunami fears are rife in Peru after it appeared on the coastal ridges. Not only one but several of Oarfishes have been spotted in the shores of Japan lately which sparked Tsunami fears there too. These oarfishes were sighted ahead of the 2011 Fukushima disaster which killed 20,000.
The oarfish is believed to be jinxed. It signals us towards an impending natural disaster according to legend. A fisherman caught the fish on the coast of Peru and the news spread like wildfire. The Oarfish is also touted as the ‘fish of tremors’ for its alleged link to earthquakes.
Oarfish has an alternative name too, that is ‘the sea serpant’ as given by the ancient mariners. These fish can grow up to 16 feet which makes it look really ginormous and scary! The scientific name of Oarfish, however is Regalecus Glesne. It is understood to be the world’s largest bony fish which can grow up to a length of 36 feet or 11 meters.
The fish spend most of their times in the depths of the ocean which can measure up to 0.6 miles or one kilometre. They don’t appear near the surface frequently but when they do, leave everyone quaking life a leaf. This giant fish can survive any tropical climate in varied temperatures too!
According to some researchers, Oarfish move into shallower waters due to electromagnetic changes that happen when there is tectonic activity linked to faults.
Going by those lines, when one Peruvian wanted to justify the legend, he said, “ It’s not a myth”.
He further added, “It’s because those fishes live in very deep waters and go to the surface due to the currents which precede natural disasters.” However, according to some other experts, there is no connection between fish and earthquakes and they have given examples when the fish was also seen in places without entailing any earthquake.
The belief they appear before earthquakes was originated in Japan where they are associated with the myth of Namazu, a gigantic catfish which lives under the country’s islands and supposedly causes earthquakes by thrashing its tail.
Legends also have the Oarfish that is known as ‘messenger from the sea god’s palace’ in Japanese, rises up just ahead of an earthquake to warn people about it. In the previous instance, when another giant Oarfish appeared before the 2011 Fkushima disaster, caused a nuclear meltdown. The legend has rose into popularity after the occurrence of the event. Dozens of other Oarshish were also discovered ahead of an 8.8 magnitude earthquake that jolted Chile in 2010.
