According to popular science website IFLScience, a diver recently had the rare fortune of spotting an extremely uncommon deep-sea fish—the “Longfin King-of-the-Salmon”—in the shallow waters of Monterey Bay, California. This mysterious creature, which usually dwells hundreds of meters deep, was found at a depth of just 4.6 meters, to the amazement of scientists.
The diver, Judah, shared this extraordinary encounter on Facebook. In the murky water, he noticed a “silvery, blade-shaped” object undulating, initially thinking it was a juvenile oarfish—commonly known as an “earthquake fish.” However, after verification by experts at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, it was confirmed to be a juvenile Longfin King-of-the-Salmon.
This fish is known in the West as the “King of Salmon.” Despite the impressive name, it is not actually a salmon, but a member of the Trachipteridae family. The imposing title originates from the legends of the Makah tribe of the Pacific Northwest coast, who believed this fish would lead salmon runs back to rivers to spawn, thus regarding it as a sacred leader. If caught by mistake, tradition dictates it must be returned to the sea.
The Longfin King-of-the-Salmon usually inhabits the “twilight zone” at depths of about 900 meters, and is very rarely seen in shallow waters. Its appearance is superficially similar to that of the oarfish (frequently referred to as an “earthquake fish” in Taiwan), as both are long and flat, but they belong to different families. This sighting is only the second recorded in the area since 2025. Experts remain curious as to why it surfaced in such shallow waters, but emphasize that it does not necessarily indicate impending disaster, and is rather a rare opportunity to observe deep-sea ecology.