Oarfish
Oarfish
Superstitious beliefs surfaced once again after a 4-meter long dead oarfish washed ashore along the coast of Zone 1, Barra, Opol, Misamis Oriental. Oarfish are deep-sea elongated fish common in temperate to tropical oceans but are rarely seen.

Photos below show personnel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) measuring and inspecting the oarfish.


oarfish
Last year, social media was abuzz with sightings of dead oarfish in Cagayan de Oro City sparking superstitious beliefs among locals of an impending disaster or calamity.

oarfish
In a Japan Times article dated March 6, 2010, Kiyoshi Wadatsumi, a specialist in ecological seismology, said that " Deep-sea fish living near the sea bottom are more sensitive to the movements of active faults than those near the surface of the sea. "

But he added that " the deep-sea fish found in nets or on beaches did not seem to be directly connected with earthquakes."