Museum upbeat as dead Oarfish offers opportunity to increase scientific knowledge

Supamas Isarabhakdi, the Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Minister, said NSM director Rawin Rawiwong reached out to tell her that a second dead Oarfish after it was found in a net of a fishing boat in Phuket on February 15. Supamas said NSM officials received the Oarfish from Phuket on Sunday.

She said she instructed the NSM to carry out taxonomy and biological studies on it, which could provide extremely valuable scientific knowledge for Thailand.

“Oarfish are very rare fish so this is a good opportunity for natural scientists of the NSM to study it,” Supamas said.

Thailand lacked scientific information about the fish, so the specimen offers a bountiful learning opportunity that could in time prove useful for the country.

Supamas said the first and second dead Oarfish would also be put on display for children and other curious people to observe at the NSM.

The first Oarfish was found dead and entangled in a fishing net in the Andaman Sea near Adang Island in Satun province.

It was the first confirmed sighting of an Oarfish in Thai waters, and the publicity raised awareness about these mysterious creatures and their presence in the region.

Rawin said the NSM would use the best preserving methods to keep the two dead Oarfish as national treasures for future Thais to study.

Dr Veera Wilasri, director of the Zoology Division of the NSM, said their staff found that the second dead Oarfish was in a 70% complete condition.

Its skin, muscles and organs were still in a good condition and only its head was slightly damaged when the fish was pulled out of water, Veera said.

The second Oarfish was measured at 2.85-metres-long and weighed 8.6 kilogrammes.

Veera added that it was the first time an Oarfish had been found in the Andaman sea off Phuket. It was found by the skipper of the P. Massaya Namchoke 4 fishing boat.

Veera said local fishery officials and the Phuket fishing research and development centre jointly studied the carcass before they handed over the fish to the NSM.

He said the second Oarfish proved a good opportunity for the NSM to study the physical appearance and its eating behaviours.

Given their appearance and rarity, Oarfish are intriguing creatures, shrouded in mystery and with the look of something out of a legend. Oarfish are the longest living bony fish. Their bodies are incredibly thin and compressed, resembling a giant ribbon.

And they are mostly found in the mesopelagic zone (250-1000 metres deep), keeping them well hidden. Their presence near the surface is often linked to storms or illness.