‘Doomsday’ fish washes up on beach, sparking ‘disaster’ fear: ‘Something bad is going to happen’

A rare “doomsday” creature known as the oarfish has washed ashore in the Canary Islands.

It’s a deep-sea harbinger of doom.

A rare “doomsday” creature known as the oarfish has washed ashore in the Canary Islands, sparking fear that a disaster is on our doorstep.

Generally residing at depths of up to almost 1000m, this elusive fish was found by bathers on the coast of Playa Quemada, as seen in a video with over 9 million views on Instagram, Jam Press reported.

“A rare oarfish came ashore,” the caption read.

In the clip, a bather can be seen approaching the shimmery, orange-fringed fish in a bid to save it. The particular specimen appeared to be several feet in length, much smaller than their max size of 17 metres — the longest of any bony fish.

Unfortunately, the resplendent critter’s journey to the surface likely didn’t bode well for the beast — shallow-swimming oarfish are typically sick or even dying, scientists claim.

The creature’s presence is believed to be unlucky for humans as well.

According to Japanese mythology, the serpentine plankton-eaters will purposely rise to the surface and beach themselves whenever they sense that trouble’s on the horizon.

In fact, doomsday fears ramped up during the 2011 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami when dozens of the pelagic beasts washed ashore in the two years preceding the catastrophe.

Instagram commenters seemed to believe the latest emergence was a scaly sign of the apocalypse.

A rare “doomsday” creature known as the oarfish has washed ashore in the Canary Islands. Photo: Tahn Miller.

The first juvenile oarfish to ever be caught on camera on the Great Barrier Reef. Photo: Tahn Miller.

“Something bad is going to happen,” fretted one, while another wrote, “They show up before natural disasters.”

“Usually, it means that an earthquake is coming when it appears on the surface of the water,” said a third.

In August, an oarfish was found in La Jolla Cove just two days before a 4.6 earthquake shook Los Angeles.

However, experts were quick to dismiss this as a giant fish tale.

“The link to reports of seismic activity goes back many, many years, but there is no scientific evidence of a connection, so I don’t think people need to worry,” said Hiroyuki Motomura, a professor of ichthyology at Kagoshima University. “I believe these fish tend to rise to the surface when their physical condition is poor, rising on water currents, which is why they are so often dead when they are found.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and has been republished with permission