'Doomsday fish': Once-in-a-lifetime sea creature encountered in Monterey Bay (opens in new tab)

(sfgate.com)

61 pointssipofwater2mo ago28 comments

28 comments

> Other members of the group were quick to point out that sightings of ribbon fish in shallow water have historically been an omen of earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan, with one person even calling it a “doomsday fish.” But as it turns out, that legend concerns a very similar-looking cousin of the king-of-the-salmon: the oarfish.

So, not a doomsday fish. Still cool though.

jasonjmcghee2mo ago

I was about to post the same comment- so just blatant click-bait misinformation by sf gate...

spaceman_20202mo ago

So this awful website hijacked my back button, directed me to an ad, and instead of telling me the name of the fish immediately, made me search for it deep in the article

Yeah, no wonder the web is dying

cwnyth2mo ago

Firefox + ublock origin. Nothing was hijacked, I saw no ads, and I found the name in the 3rd paragraph. You can improve your web experience immensely.

2Gkashmiri2mo ago

I find this funny.

On tv, back in the day, we used to have mandatory ads. They were part of programmming..

On web, people."feel" its the same thing. "Oh let the poor owners earn a bit" because of sob stories of content creators and "only source of income".

They dont see ublock as something important

1 more reply

spaceman_20202mo ago

Safari on iPhone

There are mobile users in the world too you know

2 more replies

peterspath2mo ago

I do not know what your setup is. But here on my machine I did not encounter this behaviour.

Safari 26 on macOS 26, Lockdown Enabled (limits javascript to make your system more secure)[1], and 1Blocker (to block ads and trackers)[2].

1. https://support.apple.com/en-us/105120

2. https://1blocker.com

spaceman_20202mo ago

My setup is Safari on iPhone. Aka the majority of users

Leave it to HN to blame users for “not having the perfect ad blocking setup” instead of calling out trashy click baity websites for bad practices

1 more reply

stevenwoo2mo ago

Hearst papers (sfgate.com and chron.com) are really bad about this on mobile - the advertising providers just go all out to take over your screen and it takes so long to load that the place you click is not the thing you want if you click too soon. The only plus is all the articles are free to read still.

spaceman_20202mo ago

This really isn’t an “article”. Its not content. Its a click bait summary of another piece of content shared by someone on an entirely different platform

That this content is “free” isn’t something we should be thankful for

the_real_cher2mo ago

Free slop!

scubazealous2mo ago

This and the clickbait headlines are why I refuse to click on sfgate links now.

IAmBroom2mo ago

Chrome laptop browser on Windows, and the site disabled Ctrl+W to close the window.

Fuck that.

derektank2mo ago

Once in a lifetime might be overstating it. A handful appeared near San Diego in 2024[1], and several were observed in New Zealand and the Canary Islands last year. Wonder if this is a case of surveillance bias as a result of easier communication or an actual increase in appearances

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/15/oarfish-cali...

NewJazz2mo ago

That's not the same fish as the one in this article I don't think.

fnordpiglet2mo ago

The figure of speech is about a typical divers lifetime. I believe you’re confusing it with “once a generation,” which refers to the collective human experience type of rarity.

derektank2mo ago

I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard that phrase in that context. My only real frame of reference is the 1981 Talking Heads hit single which I always took to have the “once in a generation” meaning. What’s a diver’s lifetime?

sandworm1012mo ago

No mention of where the name comes from? It comes from the legends of Pacific-Northwest native peoples. Not Japan. Washington and British Columbia.

leobg2mo ago

> Don't let Google decide who you trust. > Make SFGATE a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.

Lol

HelloUsername2mo ago

"I caught an oarfish! I hope I catch morefish!"

sipofwaterOP2mo ago

Mirror: https://archive.ph/Gfz0g

lIl-IIIl2mo ago

Video of the encounter: https://www.reddit.com/r/marinebiology/comments/1q26t6r/juve...

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

28 comments

bschwindHN2mo ago

So, not a doomsday fish. Still cool though.

jasonjmcghee2mo ago

I was about to post the same comment- so just blatant click-bait misinformation by sf gate...

spaceman_20202mo ago

So this awful website hijacked my back button, directed me to an ad, and instead of telling me the name of the fish immediately, made me search for it deep in the article

Yeah, no wonder the web is dying

cwnyth2mo ago

Firefox + ublock origin. Nothing was hijacked, I saw no ads, and I found the name in the 3rd paragraph. You can improve your web experience immensely.

2Gkashmiri2mo ago

I find this funny.

On tv, back in the day, we used to have mandatory ads. They were part of programmming..

On web, people."feel" its the same thing. "Oh let the poor owners earn a bit" because of sob stories of content creators and "only source of income".

They dont see ublock as something important

1 more reply

spaceman_20202mo ago

Safari on iPhone

There are mobile users in the world too you know

2 more replies

peterspath2mo ago

I do not know what your setup is. But here on my machine I did not encounter this behaviour.

Safari 26 on macOS 26, Lockdown Enabled (limits javascript to make your system more secure)[1], and 1Blocker (to block ads and trackers)[2].

1. https://support.apple.com/en-us/105120

2. https://1blocker.com

spaceman_20202mo ago

My setup is Safari on iPhone. Aka the majority of users

Leave it to HN to blame users for “not having the perfect ad blocking setup” instead of calling out trashy click baity websites for bad practices

1 more reply

stevenwoo2mo ago

spaceman_20202mo ago

This really isn’t an “article”. Its not content. Its a click bait summary of another piece of content shared by someone on an entirely different platform

That this content is “free” isn’t something we should be thankful for

the_real_cher2mo ago

Free slop!

scubazealous2mo ago

This and the clickbait headlines are why I refuse to click on sfgate links now.

IAmBroom2mo ago

Chrome laptop browser on Windows, and the site disabled Ctrl+W to close the window.

Fuck that.

derektank2mo ago

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/15/oarfish-cali...

NewJazz2mo ago

That's not the same fish as the one in this article I don't think.

fnordpiglet2mo ago

The figure of speech is about a typical divers lifetime. I believe you’re confusing it with “once a generation,” which refers to the collective human experience type of rarity.

derektank2mo ago

sandworm1012mo ago

No mention of where the name comes from? It comes from the legends of Pacific-Northwest native peoples. Not Japan. Washington and British Columbia.

leobg2mo ago

> Don't let Google decide who you trust. > Make SFGATE a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.

Lol

HelloUsername2mo ago

"I caught an oarfish! I hope I catch morefish!"

sipofwaterOP2mo ago

Mirror: https://archive.ph/Gfz0g

lIl-IIIl2mo ago

Video of the encounter: https://www.reddit.com/r/marinebiology/comments/1q26t6r/juve...

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse