Why a giant deep sea creature, caught in Chile, had locals panicking

Screengrabs from a video shared on YouTube by URA TV)

A 16-foot monster fish, caught by a group of fishermen in Chile, sent locals into a panic recently. The oarfish is believed to be a harbinger of earthquakes and tsunamis, their sighting considered a bad omen in certain cultures. Dwelling in the dark waters of the deep sea and rarely seen near the shore, these elusive creatures are the world’s longest bony fish.

According to The Mirror, a group of fishermen from the city of Arica in Chile recently reeled in a 16-foot oarfish. Locals quickly gathered to catch a glimpse of the colossal, serpent-like creature. A video first posted on TikTok shows how the oarfish was hoisted up to show off its enormous size.

This belief is rooted in legends that oarfish, that live between 200 and 1,000 metres deep, only beach themselves on shores ahead of underwater earthquakes. But scientists dispute these claims.

In 2019, when two oarfish were caught in Japan, Uozu Aquarium keeper Kazusa Saiba told CNN: "There is no scientific evidence at all for the theory that oarfish appear around big quakes. But we cannot 100% deny the possibility.”

The myth of oarfish as omen of destruction after the creatures were spotted before the 2011 Fukushima earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which killed more than 20,000 people.