It’s not every day you stumble across a creature that looks like it’s swum straight out of a legend—or a doomsday prophecy.
But that’s exactly what happened to Sybil Robertson, a local Tasmanian, as she took her dog for a stroll along Ocean Beach in Strahan.
What she found has left scientists and locals alike absolutely gobsmacked: a two-metre-long oarfish, shimmering silver and impossibly rare, washed up on the sand.
At first, Sybil thought she was seeing things. ‘It just looked like a long silver streak on the beach,’ she told reporters.
But as she got closer, she realised she’d stumbled upon one of the ocean’s most mysterious and elusive residents.
The oarfish, sometimes called the ‘doomsday fish’, is the world’s longest bony fish, with some individuals growing to a jaw-dropping 10 metres or more.
Their bodies are ribbon-like and iridescent, with a dorsal fin running the length of their back and a peculiar, almost mythical appearance.
It’s no wonder that, throughout history, sightings of oarfish have inspired tales of sea serpents and monsters.
But what makes this find truly extraordinary is just how rare it is to see an oarfish anywhere near the shore, let alone washed up on a Tasmanian beach.
Associate Professor Neville Barrett, a marine biologist from the University of Tasmania, explained just how unusual this event is. ‘It’s extremely rare to see them washing up anywhere on the coast, anywhere around the world,’ he said.
Oarfish are what scientists call a ‘mesopelagic’ species, meaning they spend their lives in the open ocean, usually between 200 and 500 metres below the surface, and sometimes as deep as 1000 metres.
That’s well beyond the reach of most fishing boats, divers, and even the most adventurous swimmers. ‘We don’t fish it, we don’t go diving out there… we rarely catch them, and we rarely see them,’ Prof Barrett said.
‘Typically, you’ve got to go 30 or 40 kilometres, or more, offshore to get to that kind of depth that they live in.’
Unlike most fish, oarfish don’t have a swim bladder, the organ that helps fish control their buoyancy.
So when they die, they usually sink straight to the ocean floor, never to be seen again. For one to wash up on a beach is a true rarity—the last time it happened in Australia was over a decade ago, near Hobart.
Adding to the mystery, scientists still know surprisingly little about these deep-sea giants. For one thing, no one has figured out how to accurately determine their age.
‘This is a big conundrum with this particular type of species,’ Prof Barrett said. ‘No one’s yet worked out a way to actually age them.’ Based on what we know about other deep-sea creatures, it’s thought that oarfish grow slowly and could live for up to 100 years.
‘Deeper species tend to grow slower. So just on basic principles, you’d imagine the really big ones can probably be 80 or more years old and the smaller ones at a couple of meters, well, they could be, you know, 20 or 30-years-old,’ he said. ‘We just don’t know.’
Of course, no story about oarfish would be complete without mentioning their reputation as harbingers of disaster.
In Japan and other parts of the Pacific, oarfish are sometimes called ‘doomsday fish’ because their appearance has been linked to earthquakes and tsunamis.
In the year before the devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, for example, 20 oarfish reportedly washed up on Japanese shores. Their long, serpent-like bodies and ghostly appearance have made them the stuff of legend.
But is there any truth to the idea that oarfish can predict natural disasters? The science says no. ‘When people have actually gone and looked into it, there doesn’t seem to be any relationship whatsoever,’ Prof Barrett explained.
In places like Japan, where deep water is close to shore, oarfish are more likely to be seen after seismic events simply because they live nearby. In Tasmania, you’d have to travel 40 to 100 kilometres offshore to reach their usual habitat.
So, what brought this particular oarfish to Ocean Beach? The answer is likely a combination of natural causes—perhaps illness, old age, or a change in ocean currents.
Whatever the reason, it’s a rare and fascinating reminder of the mysteries that still lurk in the deep.
For those of us who love a good beach walk, it’s a timely reminder to keep our eyes peeled—you never know what you might find washed up on the sand.
And for the scientists, it’s a precious opportunity to learn more about a species that remains, in many ways, an enigma.
Have you ever spotted something unusual on your local beach? Or do you have a theory about why these mysterious creatures sometimes appear? We’d love to hear your stories and thoughts in the comments below!
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