Elusive 'Serpent of the Deep' Washes Ashore

Photos: Courtesy of Annie MacAulay, founder of Mountain and Sea Adventures

A 14-foot long, 200 pound creature of the deep sea washed ashore in Catalina this week providing a rare glimpse of the elusive oarfish.

While Monday’s discovery by Annie MacAulay, founder of Mountain and Sea Adventures, is considered a once-in-a-lifetime find, it’s actually the second time the environmental educator has found an oarfish this summer. Because the serpent-like deep sea fish is so rarely seen, its discovery is prompting both excitement and concern that two would wash ashore in such a short amount of time.

“It’s pretty amazing,” said MacAulay. “This is like a once in a lifetime thing and to see two of them in 3 months is miraculous.”

A friend texted MacAulay to tell her a large fish had washed ashore at Catalina’s Pebbly Beach at 7:30 on Monday morning. MacAulay quickly headed over to study it. The oarfish, the world’s largest bony fish, is usually found between 600-1,000-feet deep. The male fish that washed ashore this week is 14-feet long and weighed as much as 200 pounds.

How it died and why it surfaced is a mystery, said MacAulay.

“This animal was not sick,” she said. “Its gut was filled with food.”

The oarfish that washed ashore in June was also healthy. That fish was a female with eggs. Both fish had amputated their own tails, a common behavior among oarfish that improves metabolism, said MacAulay.

Theories abound about why the fish are surfacing.

MacAulay, a marine environmental scientist educator, who studies toxic marine debris such as plastic, hopes the tissue samples will shed light on possible toxic exposure by the fish.

Another theory involves El Nino, she said.

It may be that the fish gets caught in an upwelling caused by El Nino’s warm ocean currents. “If they get caught in that upwelling, they are not strong enough swimmers to get back down,” she said.

MacAulay also wonders if earthquake activity or Navy drills cause the fish to surface.

This past weekend, the Navy conducted loud and jarring drills at nearby San Clemente Island.

“That definitely could affect what is going on in deep water,” she said.

“We know so little about these animals. I have been here over 20 years. I am in and on the water all the time and this is only the second sighting i have experienced,” ” said MacAulay.

While concerned about the health of the species, MacAulay celebrated the rare opportunity to study the fish by showing it to local students at marine biology camp.

“Whenever you can pass the knowledge on to the next generation, it’s going to make them better stewards of the ocean,” she said.