Rare Oarfish Washes Ashore on Tasmania’s Ocean Beach

Strahan, Tasmania – An oarfish, one of the ocean’s longest fish, washed up on Ocean Beach on Monday, surprising a local resident. Known for its unusual length, the fish can grow up to eight meters and is often referred to as the ‘doomsday fish’ due to its mythical associations with natural disasters.

Sybil Robertson discovered the oarfish while walking along the beach, initially mistaking it for a silver streak on the sand. ‘When I go out there, I’m the only person on the beach,’ Robertson said. ‘There’s nothing between here and Argentina.’ She estimated that the fish was about three meters long, drawing the attention of a group of circling sea eagles.

Excited by her find, Robertson shared photos of the fish on the Citizen Scientists of Tasmania Facebook page, where it was quickly identified as an oarfish. ‘It was fantastic,’ she recalled, though she was unaware of the creature’s identity at first.

Neville Barrett, an associate professor and marine ecologist at the University of Tasmania, noted that it is ‘exceptionally unusual’ to see an oarfish. ‘We’re just not out there. We’re not looking, we’re not diving, we’re not even fishing in that part of the ocean,’ Barrett explained.

Oarfish inhabit deep waters at depths of 150 to 500 meters and are rarely encountered by humans. They are known for being lazy swimmers, floating vertically and feeding on plankton rather than actively pursuing prey.

Marine biologist Jorja Gilmore described an experience from 2022 when she saw a juvenile oarfish while snorkeling near the Great Barrier Reef. ‘It was so bizarre, like something from the deep sea,’ she stated. Her encounter was one of the very few documented sightings.

Robertson expressed her gratitude for witnessing the oarfish before scavengers arrived. ‘I just knew it was something unusual and weird,’ she said. Unfortunately, by the time experts arrived to collect samples, much of the fish’s body had already been consumed by birds.

In Australia, there are two recorded species of oarfish, with one having numerous sightings in southern waters. Additionally, Barrett explained that while myths tie oarfish to impending disasters, there is no scientific evidence supporting this claim. ‘It’s just a random event,’ he remarked, emphasizing that there is no established link between oarfish sightings and earthquakes.