The rare oarfish measured more than 9 feet long.
For the second time in less than four months, an incredibly rare fish has washed ashore in the San Diego area, alarming scientists and raising some hard-to-answer questions. The oarfish, which can grow up to 12 feet in length or more, have floated to the coastline in La Jolla and, more recently, Encinitas further north. Experts aren’t sure why — or if more are coming.
The arrival of the two dead oarfish, which were hauled ashore for testing by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, part of UC San Diego, is puzzling in part because the fish themselves are rarely seen by humans. Oarfish prefer the heavy depths of the deep ocean, surviving between 300 and........