January 5, 2026
Fish-tory or fish-steria?
'Doomsday fish': Once-in-a-lifetime sea creature encountered in Monterey Bay
Commenters cry apocalypse, fact-check the legend, and roast the site's ads
TLDR: A diver spotted a rare juvenile king-of-the-salmon in Monterey Bay, sparking buzz and myth-checks. Commenters argued it’s not the quake-foretelling oarfish, debated the “once-in-a-lifetime” hype, and roasted the site’s clicky ads—turning a fish find into an internet spectacle worth the scroll.
Monterey Bay’s alleged “doomsday fish” sighting didn’t just make waves—it detonated the comments. Diver Ted Judah peered into crystal-clear water off McAbee Beach and met a rare juvenile king-of-the-salmon, a ribbon-like deep-sea oddball usually hanging out thousands of feet down. The Monterey Bay Aquarium ID’d it, but the internet instantly broke into squads: apocalypse hype, myth busters, and site-rage warriors.
The myth busters came in hot: one top comment clarified the quake-and-tsunami legend is about the oarfish, a similar cousin—“So, not a doomsday fish.” Another chimed in with a lore correction, arguing the “king-of-the-salmon” name comes from Pacific Northwest stories, not Japan, sparking a mini culture-war over who gets credit for fish folklore. Meanwhile, skeptics said “once-in-a-lifetime” sounds like headline sauce; one commenter cited recent oarfish sightings in California and abroad, suggesting surveillance bias (we share more, so it feels like more).
Then the real battle: the website itself. One user raged that the page hijacked their back button and pushed ads before revealing the fish’s name, yelling “no wonder the web is dying.” Another dropped a mirror so readers could dodge the pop-up sea. So yes, rare fish—but the comments turned it into a full-blown internet fish fight, equal parts wonder and clickbait warfare.
Key Points
- •A diver spotted a juvenile king-of-the-salmon near McAbee Beach in Monterey Bay on Dec. 30 during exceptionally clear water conditions.
- •A Monterey Bay Aquarium marine biologist identified the fish, a rare ribbon species that typically lives around 3,000 feet deep.
- •Sightings of ribbon fish are uncommon, and this observation was notable for being near shore and of a living specimen.
- •The article mentions a Japanese legend linking ribbon fish sightings to earthquakes and tsunamis, affecting public reactions.
- •Background on the diver highlights a lifelong connection to the ocean and a recent return to diving via the California Academy of Sciences.