For those of you that missed my previous post, Swimming with Oarfish, a video I made earlier this summer, here it is again. This is my second Oarfish rescue encounter taking place this past May of 2024, on the very same beach where the video Oarfish Rescue was filmed just two years before, almost to the day.
Oarfish are truly amazing deep water filter feeders living in waters between 600-3000 feet deep. Why they get beached no one knows for sure, but in this video, Swimming with Oarfish, after observing the behavior of this fish, I take a shot at a hypothesis.
If you see a beached Oarfish, if it’s stilll alive and kicking, you can help it into the water. But do so carefully, because, although they can grow up to 36 feet, they are delicate creatures with sensitive skin and an easily breakable dorsal fin that they can’t swim without. Stay tuned, my next video post, How to Rescue an Oarfish, will provide tips on how to save an Oarfish without doing harm.
If you spot a beached Oarfish, note the time and location, please contact me. I’m launching the Oarfish Beaching Awareness Project to gather data on beached Oarfish around La Ventana Bay- reported by local residents. That way we can track the location, time and frequency of these beachings and learn a little more about this fish.
If someone has a color printer and wouldn’t mind hanging a few posters about this project around town, please let me know. Thank you. Contact William at desertplayer@hotmail.com
