Earlier this year, expedition leader Isabelle Nelson Morales set out on an ocean safari, expecting to encounter some dolphins, whales or sharks. But toward the end of the trip, something unusual caught her eye.
“We just saw this huge shiny thing in the
water that I had never seen before … I literally had no idea what it was,” Nelson Morales told The Dodo.
Nelson Morales watched in awe and confusion as an extremely long, silver fish swam along the surface of the water. The captain identified the animal as an oarfish, a deep-sea animal who typically lives between 600 to 3,000 feet below the surface.
“We usually encounter a lot of different species … But the oarfish was one I never imagined,” Nelson Morales said.
Nelson Morales and the other boat passengers observed the oarfish swim around in circles, occasionally dipping back into deeper waters then resurfacing. When they saw that the fish seemed relatively calm, they got in the water to take a closer look from a respectful distance.
“[I]t was super comfortable with us,” Nelson Morales said. “It kept coming straight at us, basically, and we were dodging it.”
When the encounter was over and Nelson Morales returned to shore, she couldn’t stop thinking about the oarfish. She immersed herself in research and learned that oarfish are unique not only because of the depth at which they live, but also because of their size.
“It’s the longest bony fish in the world,” Nelson Morales said. “This one specifically was between [13 to 16 feet], so pretty big, but they can reach up to [26 feet].”
Nelson Morales also learned that in Japanese folklore, the deep-sea animals are called “doomsday fish” because they’re thought to be harbingers of tsunamis and earthquakes. But Nelson Morales felt so lucky to get to see such an elusive animal that she couldn’t bring herself to see the encounter as a bad omen.
“It’s actually just a myth that they are bad omens or that they can predict natural disasters,” Nelson Morales said. “So for me, it was just a very good omen that I’m in the right place, right time, doing what I love.”
Because oarfish live in such deep waters, it’s exceptionally rare for people to see them, let alone document their appearance and behavior. Unfortunately, when they are spotted at the surface, it often means they’re sick or reaching the end of their lives. Still, Nelson Morales felt fortunate to get to capture such rare footage of a rare animal who’s not very well-understood.
“To find them alive and to actually be able to know about their behavior, that hasn’t happened a lot of times,” Nelson Morales said.
One might think that a deep-sea animal would look strange, but everyone on the boat was astonished by the oarfish’s beauty. With their shiny crest and elongated, petal-like fins, the animal was pure grace and elegance.
“[I]t’s a very beautiful animal, and there’s no reason to be scared of them or think they’re creepy or anything,” Nelson Morales said.