Oarfish Omen Spells Earthquake Disaster For Japan Also Dead Fish Washing Up On Shores Around World

This rash of tectonic movements around the Pacific "Rim of Fire" is heightening concern that Japan - the most earthquake-prone country in the world - is next in line for a major earthquake.Those concerns have been stoked by the unexplained appearance of a fish that is known traditionally as the Messenger from the Sea God's Palace.

The giant oarfish can grow up to five metres in length and is usually to be found at depths of 1,000 metres and very rarely above 200 metres from the surface. Long and slender with a dorsal fin the length of its body, the oarfish resembles a snake.

In recent weeks, 10 specimens have been found either washed ashore or in fishing nets off Ishikawa Prefecture, half-a-dozen have been caught in nets off Toyama Prefecture and others have been reported in Kyoto, Shimane and Nagasaki prefectures, all on the northern coast.

According to traditional Japanese lore, the fish rise to the surface and beach themselves to warn of an impending earthquake - and there are scientific theories that bottom-dwelling fish may very well be susceptible to movements in seismic fault lines and act in uncharacteristic ways in advance of an earthquake - but experts here are placing more faith in their constant high-tech monitoring of the tectonic plates beneath the surface.

"In ancient times Japanese people believed that fish warned of coming earthquakes, particularly catfish," Hiroshi Tajihi, deputy director of the Kobe Earthquake Centre, told the Daily Telegraph.

"But these are just old superstitions and there is no scientific relationship between these sightings and an earthquake," he said

Even Though that these are just ancient superstitions it's still a neat little tid bit. Especially after all of the recent earthquake activity these last few months. The fish looks more like an eel to me but it sure is a ugly looking thing, kind of looks like death. Theres a picture of the "prophet" in the Link.

www.telegraph.co.uk...

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Generally yolu will find that superstition and old wives tales, although usually "debunk" initially by scientists. in tome you sually find that they then in turn confirm the local belief, through new discoveries or reasearch.

simple thing is, usually the beleif is based on observational evidence and inference. i.e. creating a link between 2 events that, over time, seem to happen repeatedly together. Hence this is the way these things find there way into folklore.

Could be worth keeping an eye on!

Yes I thought it was a interesting find with the 6.4 that hit Taiwan today. Maybe these fish no something that we don't, wouldn't be surprising but we'll see.

earthquake.usgs.gov...

Maybe the world didn't talk about the 7.0 that happened last week there and these were precursors to that quake.

Ancient superstitions and animals are usually more accurate than our so called modern sicence that has only been around 50 years or so.

I would also be watching the clouds for color like that was seen at the Chilie quake.

reply to post by whoshotJR


Good catch man I completly forgot about that huge quake last week, after the 8.8 hit.

Nature is a powerful thing and some things just cannot be explained by science.

It's good to have a little faith in everything in life.

It could be related to the previous quake, or it could well be preparing for something more - no matter what the ring of fire is active and I cannot help wonder if this will have any effect elsewhere in the world.

Watch the sky, watch the animals and watch the web.

:0)

I just found this to about the large silver grey fish which is usally found in deep waters as the oar fish but has washed up on the shores of Scotland. So it's on different sides of the world but somethings strange about it.

The large silver grey fish are not normally found in the Forth, but over the last few weeks dozens have been washed up on shores along the north east coast of England and the east coast of Scotland.

They are more normally found in deeper waters from the Mediterranean up to Scandinavia, so have come well of course to end up in the estuary.

www.fifetoday.co.uk...

Interesting thread - makes sense in a way. Here's another article.

News Web site G1 says workers have cleared nearly 78 tons of fish as of Sunday. There is no immediate estimate of how many died, but several species are involved.

www.foxnews.com...

]reply to post by Gutterpus


Even more deep sea fish that are rarely seen alive seem to be surfacing around the world for some reason. It makes you wondedr what is going on at the bottom of the sea.

A mysterious fish washed ashore on the Isle of Mull sparked detective work by conservationists. A couple on holiday from England reported the unusual specimen to the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust on the isle.
The Richardsons had found the fish washed ashore near the hamlet of Ulva Ferry on the west coast of Mull.But after involving a number of experts, the trust identified the species as a Dealfish.The pelagic fish are named for their slim, ribbon-like appearance. They are rarely seen alive as they typically live in deep waters. The species from the Atlantic has occurred chiefly on the northern coasts, Iceland, Scandinavia, Orkneys and Scotland. It can grow to eight feet long.

www.sott.net...

Also thousands of fish have washed up on show in Brazil.

news.bbc.co.uk...

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reply to post by Bcs8484


Many creatures foretell earthquakes. If you are interested in reading exciting tales written by people over the centuries of things they noted or saw before earthquakes struck, then I suggest you read the book "When Snakes Awake", its full of such articles. There were times when fisherman were out fishing in their boats and catfish started jumping into their boats to get out of the water right before an earthquake.

I mention the fact that people can go to these areas and see such phenomenon before earthquakes strike in one of my YouTube videos. I think it was one of the later videos, somewhere between 18-22 when I mentioned that if people are interested in saving whales, porpoises and other such creatures that beach themselves before earthquakes, then they could actually be there on the beaches before they come to beach themselves and die. Therefore, they could possibly save those creatures lives by being totally prepared to save them.

I show how and why you can be there in my videos on how to forecast earthquakes 100% accurately.

www.youtube.com...

Originally posted by Grayelf2009
Ancient superstitions and animals are usually more accurate than our so called modern sicence that has only been around 50 years or so.

I would also be watching the clouds for color like that was seen at the Chilie quake.

No, they aren't.

My suspicion is that tectonic activity underwater releases gases into the water which either kills the fish who then float up or they have no choice due to the gases within their bodies. I had never heard of this before, thanks for posting.

There are several possibilities that have been forwarded about why animal know when quakes are coming. Some are magnetic disturbances, electricostatic build up that sets them on edge, and ability to sense the small foreshocks. No one knows, but there is such a huge amount of anecdotal evidence, overlooking it is foolish. China zookeepers maintain close watch on their animals. I see no reason why fish would not sense something. If snakes will freeze in the snow, preferring it to being undergound during a EQ, why wouldn't fish also flee. Perhaps water is a better conductor of the unknown phenomenon. Technology is great, but the cows know if it's going to rain and bawl. So far science denys the ability to predict EQs. So if the cat, dog, and fish are better at it, don't dis them!

I saw this story earlier, pretty interesting.

www.deseretnews.com...

Another article.

According to the Tokai University Marine Museum in Japan, an oarfish was caught two days before a major earthquake on Niijima island, near Tokyo, in 1963. When shock waves hit Uwajima Bay in 1968, the same type of rare fish was caught only a few days before.

I don't think it's enough to establish some kind of pattern but it's interesting.

reply to post by Bcs8484


www.independent.co.uk...

A strong earthquake hit off the eastern coast of central Japan today, rattling buildings across a broad swath of the country, including the crowded Tokyo capital. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, and the government said there was no danger from tsunamis. The quake had an initial estimated magnitude of 6.6, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. It hit at 0808 GMT on Sunday, or 5:08 p.m. local time. The earthquake was centered about 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the eastern coast of central Fukushima Prefecture, and struck at a depth of 25 miles (40 kilometers).

Apparently the Oarfish did tell people something...

Originally posted by antonia

www.independent.co.uk...

A strong earthquake hit off the eastern coast of central Japan today, rattling buildings across a broad swath of the country, including the crowded Tokyo capital. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, and the government said there was no danger from tsunamis. The quake had an initial estimated magnitude of 6.6, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. It hit at 0808 GMT on Sunday, or 5:08 p.m. local time. The earthquake was centered about 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the eastern coast of central Fukushima Prefecture, and struck at a depth of 25 miles (40 kilometers).

Apparently the Oarfish did tell people something...

The original story was from Ishikawa, Toyama, Shimane and Nagasaki prefectures, the quake was offshore from Sendai.

As you can see from the map here, the quake didn't even register in the areas the fish were washing up, let alone the area they would have been swimming in before they beached. (Map shows the quake intensity on the JMA scale ).


I'm left with two possible conclusions:
(a) Oarfish are great at predicting earthquakes, but lousy at geography
(b) the events are unrelated.

just nature i guess, earthquake suffocated fish, wonder what's happened to all the new species from the bottom of the ocean reefs that's also been found erm the ones that live where the hot steaming underwater rocks are??

natural disasters like this and us wrecking the seas aint a good mix at all we will end up with nothing

For those that haven't seen this yet... Check it out. HUGE ore fish found dead but intake.Find of a lifetime

Wow huh?

Looks like another Oarfish has washed ashore in California, the second one in a week... if this is an Earthquake warning then we may want to take notice.

Second Oarfish Washes Ashore

CNN has even discussed the link between Oarfish washing up as a precursor or warning to a large quake. Personally I feel there is a scientific link, just not yet established.

Bizarre Creatures Wash Ashore

Surpirsed there is not more talk about these incidents and their possible connection to a large earthquake for California on her at ATS... I'm very intrigued!I see numerous threads on ATS discussing what I feel are far less palpable warning signs for Earthquakes, and they get much more attention.