The legendary “doom fish” has returned to California. A long, ribbon-shaped oarfish, rarely seen and believed to signal disaster, has washed up on California’s shores for the second time this year. PhD candidate Alison Laferriere from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego discovered the nearly 10-foot-long oarfish on a beach in Encinitas, in southern California, last week. According to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, oarfish are incredibly rare. Since 1901, only 21 oarfish have been documented washing up on California shores, according to the institution.

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Persons: ”, Alison Laferriere, oarfish, Ben Frable, Frable Organizations: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA's Fisheries Science Locations: California, Encinitas, Japan, Japan’s, La Jolla, San Diego