The legendary ‘doomfish’ has returned to California.

A long, ribbon-shaped oarfish, rarely seen and believed to be a sign of disaster, has washed up on the California coast for the second time this year.

PhD student Alison Laferriere of UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography discovered the nearly 10-foot-long oarfish on a beach in Encinitas, southern California, last week.

Oarfish are elusive creatures that live in the deep ocean – often up to 900 meters below the surface – in the mesopelagic zone, a dark region beyond the reach of sunlight.

These mysterious fish, which can grow up to 20 feet in length, are still largely unstudied by scientists, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Rare, monstrously proportioned and oddly shaped oarfish have fueled myths and legends for centuries and are sometimes called the ‘doomsday fish’ due to their reputation as predictors of natural disasters or earthquakes.

In 2011, the largely forgotten legend of the “earthquake fish” resurfaced after twenty oars washed ashore in the months leading up to Japan’s most powerful recorded earthquake.

The devastating tsunami that hit the country on March 11, 2011, killed more than 15,000 people and was caused by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake that pushed the seabed towards Honshu, Japan’s largest island.

According to the Scripps Institution, oars are incredibly rare.

Since 1901, only 21 oars have been documented washing up on the California coast.

Ben Frable, a researcher at the Scripps Institution, suggested that shifts in ocean conditions, along with a potential increase in oar populations, could be behind the increase in sightings, he said in a statement last August, after the first oarfish had been found.

This oarfish, which measured 11 feet in length, was spotted by kayakers and snorkelers in La Jolla Cove, north of downtown San Diego. The fish was then transported to NOAA’s Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla for further examination.

“Rare encounters like this provide an incredible opportunity to learn more about this species and its behavior,” Frable said.

Frable also noted that while scientists are unsure of the exact causes, the La Jolla coast, which is located near two underwater canyons that lead deep water to shore, is often a hotspot for disoriented or injured deep-sea fish to to rinse.

As scientists continue to study these rare appearances, the mysterious oarfish arouses curiosity and intrigue.

A 2019 study by Japanese researchers found that no solid scientific evidence has been found linking oars to earthquakes, leaving the doom they may or may not portend open to anyone.