California fears the worst: Cursed creature appears on its shores
It has bright red fins, silver skin, it can measure up to 6 meters long and fascinates people by its appearance as much as by the mystery that surrounds it. The royal herring has just washed up in California.
The phenomenon is rare. The royal herring lives 1 kilometer below the surface of the water and only washes up exceptionally. This year, two specimens have nevertheless appeared in California, one last week, on a beach in Encinitas (a coastal city in the south of the state) and the other off the coast of San Diego, last August. The appearance revives old legends; the royal herring is considered an omen of natural disasters, and in particular earthquakes. In 2011 in Japan, during the devastating Tōhoku earthquake, which killed more than 15,000 people, around twenty of these fish washed up on beaches during the months leading up to the tragedy, reports Belgian media Sudinfo.
Despite this persistent and very dark reputation, no scientific link has yet been established between the royal herring and natural disasters. According to researcher Ben Frable at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, “changes in the ocean could explain these unusual appearances”. He added that “these rare encounters allow us to learn more about this mysterious species”.
(MH with AsD - Source: Sudinfo - Illustration: Unsplash)