Latest news with #OceanBeach
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Ultra rare 'Harbinger of Doom' fish seen as a sign of looming natural disaster washes up on Australian beach
A rare 'doomsday' nine-foot-long oarfish has washed up on a beach in Tasmania. The sea creature was discovered on Ocean Beach on the western coast of the Australian island on Monday by dogwalker Sybil Robertson. Robertson, who estimates the fish was about nine feet in length, said of the rare find: 'It was fantastic. I just knew it was something unusual and weird.' Oarfish are often interpreted as a bad omen when seen outside of their natural habitat in the depths of the ocean. Robertson said she did not know how rare the fish was until she shared images of the sea creature on a local Facebook group, which show the enormous silver fish washed up on the sand. The post was then re-shared on social platform Reddit and quickly went viral, with several Internet users commenting on the potential meaning of the fish, which has been linked to anticipating catastrophic events in Japanese mythology. 'The ocean is very unhappy with humanity's disdain for it', one user commented. Another said: 'We're seeing a lot of these rare "doomsday" fish washing up these days, aren't we?'. 'The world DOES seem to be ending more frequently lately', a third wrote. Oarfish can measure up to 36 feet in length and weigh over 441 pounds. Legend has it they are harbingers of earthquakes or other natural disasters. The rare sighting in Tasmania comes months after an oarfish washed up on a beach in the Canary Islands. The sea creature was discovered on February 10 on the coast of Playa Quemada in Lanzarote by bathers, and sparked fears online. A video of the sea creature went viral on Instagram, showing how a man goes up to the silver fish to rescue it. The sighting on the Spanish island came just weeks after a similar fish sparked fears on a beach in Mexico. Surfers spotted the creature on the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula. The massive fish, about as long as a surfboard, featured a silvery-blue body with a stunning red fin trailing down its back but had an injured tail.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Rarely seen metres-long ‘doomsday' oarfish washes up on Tasmania's wild west coast
At first it looked like a great silver streak on the sand. An oarfish, fantastically long and rarely seen, had washed up on Tasmania's rugged west coast. Oarfish, one of the ocean's longest fish, are astonishing creatures that grow up to eight metres long. Nicknamed the 'king of herrings' or more unkindly the 'doomsday fish', some legends and stories consider the animals to be harbingers of disaster. Sybil Robertson made the unusual discovery while walking on Ocean Beach near Strahan, on Monday. 'When I go out there, I'm the only person on the beach,' she said. 'It's really wild. There's nothing between here and Argentina.' On Monday, she walked in a different direction than usual and noticed a group of sea eagles inspecting the fish, which she estimated was around three metres long, on the sand. 'I'm five foot nine, and I've got a reasonable stride, [it was] a good three-and-a-bit paces,' she said. 'It was fantastic,' she said, although not realising what it was. 'I just knew it was something unusual and weird.' But her find was quickly identified as an oarfish when she posted a photo on the Citizen Scientists of Tasmania social media page. 'Its exceptionally unusual to see anything like that,' said assoc prof Neville Barrett, a marine ecologist at the University of Tasmania. Oarfish are an 'epipelagic' species, he said, living in the open ocean at mid-water depths of 150 to 500m, from where they are rarely seen or caught. 'We're just not out there,' Barrett said. 'We're not looking, we're not diving, we're not even fishing in that part of the ocean.' Oarfish are 'a phenomenally big fish' he said, which can weigh more than 400kg. He described them as a lazy fish with very little muscle that tends to float around, often vertically in the water, eating various types of plankton. 'They're not active feeders. They don't chase their prey. They're just nibbling on whatever's there. So they don't have to be very strong, or great swimmers,' he said. Very few people have seen an oarfish in the wild. Marine biologist Jorja Gilmore is 'one of the lucky ones'. In 2022, she was leading a small tour group of snorkelers on the Great Barrier Reef near Port Douglas when they spotted something strange in the water below them. This one was a juvenile, long and thin like a ruler, with tendrils that made it look a bit like a giant lure, Gilmore said. 'It was so bizarre', she said, 'like something from the deep sea'. The incredibly rare encounter is thought to be the first recorded with this species on the east coast of Australia. 'It's still the best thing I have seen in the water to this day,' Gilmore said. Robinson feels fortunate to have come across the fish in such good condition. A few hours later the head was gone, and the body was already decimated by crows and eagles, she said. 'It's just so interesting what you can find if you just keep your eyes open whilst you're looking around. It's just amazing.'
ABC News
3 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Elusive oarfish found at Ocean Beach on Tasmania's rugged west coast
When Sybil Robertson went dog walking on Tasmania's Ocean Beach on Monday, she was unaware she was about to join the small club of people who have found an elusive oarfish. The creature from the deep is the longest bony fish species in the world and is rarely seen by humans. Known by some as the "doomsday fish", it is linked to tales of sea serpents and natural disasters. "I was watching a sea eagle flying around and I noticed it was coming down onto the beach and I thought, 'That's unusual, I don't often see them land on the beach,'" Ms Robertson said. The Strahan resident could see the sun catching a silvery streak on the beach, on state's rugged west coast. "I could see it was a long fish but I had no idea what kind of fish," Ms Robertson said. "As I got closer I could see the beautiful colouring around its heads and the markings on it were fabulous." She said it was a "good three paces" in length and had some injuries, but otherwise appeared in good condition. Ms Robertson took photos of the fish and posted them to a social media group called Citizen Scientists of Tasmania, where it was confirmed as an oarfish. In a race against time due to hungry birds circling, authorities were contacted to take samples of the fish so it could be researched by CSIRO experts. Ocean Beach is known for its wildness, and at its longitude there is no land between it and South America. "It's a good place to be." Neville Barrett, a fish biologist and associate professor with the University of Tasmania's Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, described the oarfish Ms Robertson found as a "beauty". "It's a very rare occasion when one washes ashore," he said. "There's not many reportings at all." Dr Barrett said the fish could grow up to 8 metres, and lived in the open ocean at depths from 150m to 1 kilometre below the surface. He said very few people had seen one alive. "It's very much a fortuitous, lucky thing really," Dr Barrett said. "It's not the kind of thing that would be caught in trawlers and it's not somewhere we go diving — we're not catching them." He said most sank when they died, and decomposed. "Occasionally when they are sick, apparently, they swim up to the surface for unknown reasons," Dr Barrett said. "There's a lot of them out there in the ocean almost certainly, but they live and die well out of sight of the average human. There were two species of oarfish found in Australia, according to CSIRO ichthyologist John Pogonoski. One has dozens of records in Southern Australia and the other, a tropical species, has only a handful of sightings. "They are impressive," Mr Pogonoski said. He said there were iconic photos from history of about 10 to 15 people holding up a dead oarfish, including one found in California in 2013. "In Australia we know of at least 70 records in scientific databases of specimens that have washed up," he said. Mr Pogonoski said the CSIRO had an oarfish in its collection that washed up under the Tasman Bridge in Hobart more than a decade ago. Given its sea serpent-like features, he said he could see why it was the subject of myths. Dr Barrett said the body fish was "gelatinous" and it fed on crustaceans. "They aren't top predators, they don't swim fast," he said. And not much is known about how long they live for. "Something that [oarfish] gets up to 8m in length — it'd be at least 20 to 30 years to get to that length," Dr Barrett said. "Most deep-water species are very old — orange roughy [fish] for example can get to 120 years." The oarfish is associated with natural disasters and bad news, and the myth was revived when many of them were seen before the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Dr Barrett said there was no evidence the fish could sense a natural disaster. "It's just a random event, there's no real evidence there's any linkage," he said. "I can imagine a significant earthquake could disturb mid-water fish and stun them and lead to some coming up, but that's at the same time [as the diaster].
The Sun
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Love Island's Nicole looks completely different as she poses in barely there swimsuit in Ibiza
LOVE Island's Nicole Samuel looked completely different as she showed off her new body in a barely there swimsuit in Ibiza. The former Islander, 24, has recently been working hard in the gym and has been keeping fans up-to-date with her incredible transformation. 5 Now Love Island star Nicole - who found fame in the villa last year - was keen to reveal the results of her hard work with some sizzling new snaps. The reality star looked stunning while posing in a very daring swimsuit, that left very little to the imagination. The sexy one-piece showed off her peachy bum, and was cutout at the front to reveal her cleavage and toned tum. It rode up to her hips and showed off her lithe legs. In true Love Island star form, Nicole's pics were taken at the famous Ocean Beach club in Ibiza, which is owned by Wayne Lineker. There she was seen posing in her tiny swimsuit, as well as enjoying drinks in the sun with her bikini-clad friends. Ocean Beach is a mecca for former Islanders, and sees them flock there every year for VIP treatment. Nicole posted her sexy pics on Instagram and captioned them with: "Guess where I am?" Fans were seriously impressed with her body overhaul and rushed to the compliment her on her new look. One wrote: "You look unreal! What's your secret?!!" Shock Love Island feud revealed as villa stars take sides after Nicole and Ciaran's split - and post VERY shady video slamming her Another said: "Un real, if I ever look anywhere close to how perfect you look right now, I'll be winning!!!!" This one said: "Wow! You look stunning!" Nicole shot to fame on Love Island last summer and left the villa with Ciaran Davies. Despite appearing to be one of the strongest couples of the series, they left fans stunned when they split in December. 5 A rep for the pair told The Sun at the time: 'Over the last couple of days Nicole and Ciaran have made the mutual decision to part ways. 'They have left the relationship on amicable terms, and will remain good friends going forward.' Nicole later revealed she was approached by All Stars to return to the villa - but confessed she was still getting over the break-up. She told the Daily Mail: "I got asked to do it [All Stars] this year, but it is too soon. "We announced the breakup on the Monday and the next day they were in contact, so it was too soon, I need time to heal. "I'm not rushing from one thing to another boy. Mentally and physically I couldn't do it. I'm still processing the breakup. "It's mad watching the people who were in there with me, that was us six months ago. I miss it but it is mad. I'm rooting for season 11 and Elma, she's my girl."
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Yahoo
Decomposed body pulled from Ocean Beach: SFFD
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The San Francisco Fire Department said its crews pulled a badly decomposed body from the waters at Ocean Beach on Friday night. SFFD said it was alerted at 6:06 p.m. of a possible body floating in the surf near 459 Great Highway. SFFD said the body was pulled out from the water and it was determined the person was deceased. It is not known how long the person was in the water. The age and gender of the victim is not clear. An investigation is underway. We'll have more on this story as it develops. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
