Oarfish and Earthquakes: Is the Doomsday Fish a Real Warning Sign?

Giant oarfish Regalecus glesne washed ashore illustrating the doomsday fish earthquake mythology

Oarfish strandings have preceded some of history’s largest earthquakes, but a 2019 study analyzing 336 major seismic events found no statistically significant correlation. Here is the biology, the folklore, the data, and why the pattern keeps fooling us.