Oarfish sightings trigger earthquake, tsunami fears in Japan

The sightings of several oarfish measuring nearly four meters off Imizu Port in Japan's Toyama prefecture over the week have raised an alarm that an earthquake and tsunami may be coming.

The fishes were already dead and tangled in fishing nets before they were taken for studying. A record of four oarfishes were found in Japan in 2015 but that could be surpassed this year.

The species usually inhabits in deep waters and are rarely seen on the surface. Legend has it that when an oarfish arrives to the shallow waters, disaster is near.

This fish may be susceptible to movements in seismic fall and act accordingly to an earthquake. But no scientific evidence of the connection was found.

In 2010 after at least 10 Oar fish were washed up along Japan's coastline a magnitude 9 earthquake struck the country months later. It triggered a tsunami that killed 19 thousand people.

Source: Star TV/ Asia News Network