Snorkelers and kayakers in La Jolla Cove, California, found a surprise on August 10. They spotted something shiny and silver in the water . . . something 12 feet long. An oarfish!
Oarfish live deep in the ocean. People rarely see them. But this one was floating dead on the water’s surface. The finders took it ashore for scientists to study.
An oarfish sighting is unusual. Fish experts keep track of each time it happens. This is only the 20th time an oarfish is known to have washed up in California since 1901.
Did you know a myth surrounds oarfish? Some people say seeing one is a sign of natural disasters or earthquakes to come. But don’t worry. No one has proven a connection between oarfish and disasters. And no matter what, God is in control.
Oarfish can grow longer than 20 feet. They live in the mesopelagic zone. That is a deep part of the ocean. Very little light reaches there.
Swimmers brought the La Jolla Cove oarfish to shore atop a paddleboard. A pickup truck transported it to a lab.
Scientists will examine the oarfish. They hope to find out how it died.
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the Earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the Earth.” — Genesis 1:26
