Deep sea fish last seen over 100 years ago found in California

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A team of researchers and science-minded snorkelers working together to recover a dead oarfish. Credit: AP

A deep-sea fish last seen over 100 years ago was found dead in La Jolla Cove, San Diego, and brought ashore to study, marine experts have said.

The silvery, 3.6-metre oarfish was found last weekend by a group of snorkelers and kayakers, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography said in a statement on Thursday.

According to fish expert Ben Frable, this is only the 20th time an oarfish has been recorded washing up in California since 1901.

Scripps noted that oarfish are sometimes thought to predict natural disasters or earthquakes, although no evidence has proven this link.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, oarfish can grow longer than 6 meters and usually live in the ocean's deep, dark mesopelagic zone.

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Swimmers brought the oarfish from La Jolla Cove to shore on a paddleboard, and then transferred it to a pick-up truck.

Scientists from the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center and Scripps planned to perform an autopsy on Friday to determine the cause of death.

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