Oarfish harbinger of quake?

I read an interesting item the other day. Apparently there have these deep sea oarfish, up to 18 feet long, that have washed ashore in southern Cal. According to Japanese lore, seeing these fish like this is an indication of pending seismic activity.

I guess an interesting coincidence is this same thing happened shortly before the event that inundated Fukushima in 2011. Some theorize that the fish are super sensitive to seismic activity, and beaching themselves may be a form of attempted evasion. Others say the two are not related.

Things that make you go, "Hmmm..."

Hmmmmmm!
If there'a a quake this weekend in California - I'm blaming you Benjammin :-)

Pete2

Meanwhile, I'll keep the Rockies between me and the Deep Blue (Pacific) sea.

JP - New Madrid Fault. True, no tsunami for you.

Bwa-ha-ha-ha... you cracked me up guys.

You know a 7.1 earthquake followed by a 30cm (1 ft) tsunami hit Japan Friday, right?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24677578
-Blast

If this is true, I think the oarfish self-preservation instinct needs a little fine tuning.

that's true. i think we've discovered the aquatic version of lemmings :-)

Pete2

" no tsunami for you"
If my house falls down around my ears, I may survive. If my house falls down and is covered in 20 feet of water, my odds suffer dramatically.

I would truly be impressed were you to founder in the surf in Missouri, good sir.

Where were the oarfish in 1971 (Sylmar), 1994 (Northridge), 1969 (the biggest ever - Anchorage)? Color me skeptical. Prediction of earthquakes by various species has been proposed for a long time - and the notion has never stood up to serious scrutiny. Of course, you never know.....

Maybe just one of those things that make you go "Hmmm....".

"Where were the oarfish in 1971"
They may have been in places where no one looked? I think the lore (iirc) says the fish beach themselves to escape, not to warn humans.

Ahem ... I'm STILL here. Just sayin'. :-)
I think that particular oarfish was eating too many spiked cookies. That's a definite risk in San Francisco.

Pete2

Post sea-level rise coastlines

Only a matter of time until Memphis is a seaport; can Missouri surf be far behind?

Hopefully not in this lifetime, though.