Deep-Sea Opah Swims Ashore in San Diego
“I never would have believed it if I wasn’t there to see it,” wrote Doug Kern, manager of Fisherman’s Landing in San Diego, California, on his Facebook page. “The fish was swimming around in circles and then just beached itself. We got a gaff and pulled it up on the sand.”
Kern is referring to a 91-pound opah — normally a deep-sea dweller and a rare, prized catch for offshore anglers — that somehow got lost and swam into the shallows near the landing on Saturday (March 22) where, ironically, many of San Diego’s passenger fishing boats are docked.
“It was the craziest day ever at the landing,” said Kern.
No word yet on the disposition of the now-dead fish, but fisheries biologists are likely eager to examine it to determine what might have ailed the wayward opah.
