Oarfish
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In 2016, angler and zoologist [[Jeremy Wade]]'s show ''[[River Monsters]]'' aired footage of Wade swimming with two living, healthy oarfish. In season 8 episode 1, titled "Deep Sea Demon" (the 47th episode of the series), Wade and his crew went to a specific buoy outside of France in the middle of the [[Mediterranean Sea]] where prior sightings of a live oarfish had been reported. Wade planned on blue-water diving, a variation of [[open-water diving]] where the diver is unable to see the seafloor. At the buoy, the water is approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) deep; the buoy is anchored by a single vertical chain that connects to the seabed. The rarely-sighted oarfish was reported to occasionally swim up and down the chain, sometimes as close as 30 feet (9 meters) from the surface. During Wade's second diving attempt, done around nightfall, he successfully saw first one, then two living and healthy oarfish. Wade estimated the first oarfish was roughly 2.5 times Wade's |
In 2016, angler and zoologist [[Jeremy Wade]]'s show ''[[River Monsters]]'' aired footage of Wade swimming with two living, healthy oarfish. In season 8 episode 1, titled "Deep Sea Demon" (the 47th episode of the series), Wade and his crew went to a specific buoy outside of France in the middle of the [[Mediterranean Sea]] where prior sightings of a live oarfish had been reported. Wade planned on blue-water diving, a variation of [[open-water diving]] where the diver is unable to see the seafloor. At the buoy, the water is approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) deep; the buoy is anchored by a single vertical chain that connects to the seabed. The rarely-sighted oarfish was reported to occasionally swim up and down the chain, sometimes as close as 30 feet (9 meters) from the surface. During Wade's second diving attempt, done around nightfall, he successfully saw first one, then two living and healthy oarfish. Wade estimated the first oarfish was roughly 2.5 times Wade's height; unofficial reports list Wade's height as 6 feet (1.83 meters) tall{{Cite web |title=Jeremy Wade |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3953654/ |access-date=2026-04-21 |website=IMDB}}, meaning the oarfish was roughly 15 feet (4.757 meters) long. It is unknown exactly why the oarfish were there, or whether or not they were a breeding pair. Both oarfish appeared to be using the buoy's chain as a point of reference in the sea. The oarfish were close enough that Wade was able to reach out and gently touch one. After a few minutes, the oarfish swam away unharmed. As a result, Wade is now one of the very few people in history to witness a live, healthy oarfish. |
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In January 2019, two oarfish were found alive in the nets of fishermen on the Japanese island of Okinawa. As of August 2024, there had only been about 20 oarfish sightings recorded along the coast of California since 1901. However, in February 2025, a sighting was recorded on video in the shallow water in Baja California Sur, along Mexico's Pacific Coast. In November 2024, one was found to have washed up on a beach in California.{{Cite news |last=Kwai |first=Isabella |date=2024-11-21 |title=She Went for a Walk on the Beach and Found a Rare 'Doomsday Fish' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/21/us/doomsday-fish-california-oarfish.html |access-date=2025-02-25 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} |
In January 2019, two oarfish were found alive in the nets of fishermen on the Japanese island of Okinawa. As of August 2024, there had only been about 20 oarfish sightings recorded along the coast of California since 1901. However, in February 2025, a sighting was recorded on video in the shallow water in Baja California Sur, along Mexico's Pacific Coast. In November 2024, one was found to have washed up on a beach in California.{{Cite news |last=Kwai |first=Isabella |date=2024-11-21 |title=She Went for a Walk on the Beach and Found a Rare 'Doomsday Fish' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/21/us/doomsday-fish-california-oarfish.html |access-date=2025-02-25 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} |
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