Between expressions of fear and at the same time skepticism, in the Dominican Republic they received information about the appearance of an oarfish, because, as they well know in Ecuador, they associate the unpopular specimen with earthquakes or tsunamis.

“If that fish comes out, something is going to happen, may God catch us,” said user mercadojuancarlos90 on social networks. He adds: “The fish thing appeared a year ago here in Chile and two days later a magnitude 6.8 earthquake happened, then it appeared in Ecuador and the same thing happened.”

However, the oarfish has its defenders, like Anthony V., who reminds us that “it’s just a fish, it can’t be a bad omen.”

Josué Fernández asks for more seriousness in his comment: “It is not called the fish of the end of the world… It is called the oar fish.”

But Juan Terrazas joins the debate: “It is the fish that predicts tsunamis in Japan, something worrying will definitely happen.”

Grandparents say the last time we saw an oar in the Dominican Republic was August 1, 1946. Three days later the Matancita earthquake occurred.

Julissa Cespedes

However, what they did with the fish has attracted attention.

Three meter long oar found on the beach of Tonsupa, Ecuador

Coincidences… omens

In Listín Diario they indicated on November 27, 2023 that the oar was found by two teenagers on the coast of Los Coquitos of the municipality of Pepillo Salcedo in Monte Cristi.

He was dead when they found him on Saturday, November 25, the release reported. However, a local resident said he was still floating but died within about two hours.

To defuse the tension surrounding the specimen, researcher and professor Carlos Rodríguez told Dominican media that “it is a cosmopolitan fish that can appear anywhere in the world.”

He said – fearing it could predict an earthquake, as some think – “it does not predict natural events.”

“Look at one thing: there may be coincidence. I’m not saying there won’t be an earthquake in the land. I’m saying it can’t be predicted because I dare say there won’t be an earthquake and then it will happen .” is happening… and even in Monte Cristi recently there was quite a big movement, but it does not necessarily concern the relationship with the fish,” explained the professor at the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo.

Sixto Inchaustegui, also a researcher, said it is unknown why the fish, which is in the depths, reaches the shore.

He described it as “a lonely fish” and in Listín Diario they emphasized that it is in danger of extinction.

This belief became popular when Kiyoshi Wadatsumi, a Japanese seismologist, stated that these animals rise to the surface by sensing seismic waves on the seabed. However, there are no scientific publications on this.

Jean Suriel, meteorological analyst

Did they eat it?

What happened to the oar? In that medium they reported that “it was cut up and distributed” among residents of Monte Cristi, Pepillo Salcedo province.

Some of it had been cooked, they reported in Listín Diario. From his fishmonger restaurant, Mario Cabrera, who “had parts of the chilled fish” said: “The guards have a piece here and they didn’t come looking for it.”

Can oarfish predict earthquakes?

Demystifying the oarfish

In August 2022, at the Faculty of Marine Sciences of the Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí (ULEAM), located in Manta, Ecuador, they began work to demystify that the presence of oarfish on the coasts of several countries is related to proximity of an earthquake.

One of the reasons why a specimen would die on the shore is that when they are about to die, they end up stranded on the beach, El Universo reported at the time. Another thesis, according to Jean Suriel, a meteorological analyst, is that “it comes to the surface when it is sick or to lay its eggs.”

(JO)