Do you dare to catch oarfish?

For many people, the most favorite thing to eat is delicious seafood, especially those lively seafood, which are directly sent to various gourmet restaurants after being caught and brought ashore. They are very popular among foodies. However, not all seafood is alive after being salvaged ashore, such as hairtail. Once they leave the deep sea, they will explode and die. Recently, relevant media reported that 
Chilean fishermen caught a 5-meter-long oarfish . Can this oarfish, which is known as the “symbol of disaster”, really foreshadow disaster?

Chilean fishermen catch 5-meter-long oarfish

According to foreign media reports, a group of fishermen in Arica, Chile, accidentally caught a five-meter-long oarfish while fishing. In the relevant pictures, we can see that this wide and long oarfish is very huge after being hoisted, dozens of times the size of ordinary cutlassfish. 
The fishermen are also terrified because in their eyes, catching this oarfish means disaster.

Many netizens also left messages saying: “This huge oarfish is really scary. Who did they offend living in the deep sea?” “Isn’t it bad to catch oarfish?” “It would be great if this fish was alive, at least it could be released. I heard that they represent a symbol of disaster. Is this true?”

“It’s a bit cruel to see these rare animals being caught. After all, even rare animals have the right to survive.” “These fish are often eaten. They are made into salted hairtail, soaked in cooking oil, and fried when they are ready to eat. They are super fragrant.” ” Is this fish called earthquake fish? As long as it is caught, it means an earthquake will occur. Is it true?”

Can oarfish be caught?

Oarfish are also known as Dragon Palace Messenger, Sea Dragon King, Big Oarfish, Earthquake Fish, etc. They are mainly distributed in the subtropical deep sea of ​​the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Although the word “Oarfish” is in the name of Oarfish, they are not real Oarfish, that is to say, they have no genetic relationship with Oarfish and are not members of the Oarfish family.

It can be said that the longest bony fish in the world so far is the oarfish, whose longest body length can reach 11 meters . Of course, there is a statement that has not been fully confirmed, that is, in the early 18th century, on a beach in Scotland, there was a cutlassfish washed ashore by the sea. It is said that the body length of this oarfish reached 17 meters .

In real life, the oarfish we usually see are generally about three to five meters long. This type of oarfish has a slender body, a silver-gray body color, no scales, and about four hundred dorsal fin rays, like a long silver ribbon swaying in the deep sea. Since the appearance of the oarfish is very similar to that of the hairtail, it is often easily mistaken for the hairtail. So, can this type of oarfish be caught?

Humanitarian perspective

From a humanitarian perspective, we do not encourage or recommend fishermen to catch oarfish because they are one of the rarer species in the deep sea. There is a certain reason why they exist in the deep sea. Perhaps they also play a very important role in the deep sea and even play a regulating role in the marine ecological environment. So from this perspective, we do not recommend that you catch them.

In real life, many people also believe that the oarfish has a certain legendary value. Some even say that it is the son of Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East China Sea. Many ancient myths come from this fish, which is like a dragon. Catching it means a disaster, so many people believe that it cannot be caught.

Why is the oarfish considered a symbol of disaster?

In many places, the oarfish is called a “disaster fish”, and some Japanese even call it an earthquake fish. So does the fish really represent a symbol of disaster? Once it is caught on shore, will a disaster really happen?

In the eyes of the Japanese, the ish is a kind of fairy from the deep sea . They believe that the oarfish itself carries a kind of spirituality, because every appearance of the oarfish means that either an earthquake or a tsunami is about to occur, so the Japanese regard them as messengers of the sea palace. This spiritual creature cannot be caught at all.

In the eyes of people in other countries, the fish is a sea monster. For example, when these Chilean fishermen catch the fish and bring it ashore, they all believe that a disaster will happen soon, because there are always many herrings following the fish. They are the devils in the sea and must have some demonic nature. Catching them ashore is a symbol of disaster. It has to be said that the fish itself carries a strong sense of mystery. So, does such a creature, once caught ashore, really mean that a disaster will happen?

Biggest feature of the oarfish

You should know that the biggest feature of the fish is that it lives in the deep sea. Only after a storm occurs in the ocean will this fish be washed onto the beach by the waves . Once someone finds this fish in the shallow sea or on the beach, it means that a tsunami or earthquake has occurred in this sea area. Especially when there is an abnormality in the deep sea bottom crust, this fish’s sense of direction will be abnormal. They will panic when they can’t find the exact direction, and will appear in the shallow sea inexplicably due to swimming and running around. This is why people will find this deep-sea species in shallow sea areas after a storm.

However, in the eyes of many scientists, whether the appearance of this fish is related to earthquake precursors cannot be simply judged, and more scientific evidence is needed. Because the appearance of fish in shallow sea areas or on beaches is also related to themselves. When they suffer from certain diseases, they cannot survive in the deep sea and are unable to avoid the impact of waves. Finally, they are washed to the shallows by the waves. Therefore, the appearance of deep-sea species has many reasons, and it is not necessarily a disaster species that people think they carry.

Strange appearance

Because the fish has a strange appearance and is not a common deep-sea fish, its mystery becomes very strong. In any case, we should advocate science and abandon feudal superstition. Don’t regard this creature as a symbol of disaster. In recent years, with global warming and climate change, more and more marine life is in danger of extinction. For humans, we should treat all things in the world well, and every life should be respected.

If there is no overfishing, perhaps the fish will live safely in the deep sea without being disturbed. It is precisely because of the gradual intensification of fishing that they are presented to the world. Protecting marine life and the natural ecological environment is to protect humans themselves. Only in this way can we reduce the occurrence of more disasters.