Photo: Glory Ann Timkang Salva

Photo: Glory Ann Timkang Salva

Photo: Glory Ann Timkang Salva

Photo: Glory Ann Timkang Salva

LEYTE - An oarfish washed ashore in the town of Padre Burgos, Wednesday morning.

The huge fish was seen at a shoreline in Pook, Sta. Sofia.

At least 5 separate incidents of oarfish stranding in different beaches across the country have been reported this year alone.

Some residents have feared the surfacing of oarfish, as Japanese lore links the appearance of the specie in shallow waters as a warning for a forthcoming calamity.

An oarfish was found in Surigao two days before a 6.7 magnitude quake devastated the province.

• Dead oarfish found in Mindanao sparks debate: Can animals predict earthquakes?

In an undated Japan Times article, seismologist Kiyoshi Wadatsumi said that “deep-sea fish living near the sea bottom are more sensitive to the movements of active faults than those near the surface of the sea.”

But not all beachings or strandings or instances of dead deep-sea creatures being found in shallow water are followed by earthquakes and this is why scientists find such speculation fishy.

--- with a report from Jeanette Ruedas, ABS-CBN News.