In her last moments, she wanted to see the light!
If you’re on TikTok, Instagram, or Twitter, you’ve likely seen posts about the scary fish from Finding Nemo that was recently sighted and filmed—for the first time ever—near the ocean’s surface just about four weeks ago.
The sighting occurred just over a mile off the coast of Tenerife. Footage showed that the creature, though only about six inches in size, had no ordinary appearance: a short humpback body, a gaping mouth lined with razor-sharp teeth, wide-open eyes, and a rod with a small lightbulb-like structure sprouting from its head. It was also reported that a few hours after the footage was taken, the creature died.
The fish, identified as a female black seadevil anglerfish, was notably out of place, as it is known for this species to inhabit ocean depths between 650 and 6,500 feet. Even sunlight fails to reach these depths, and light sources are scarce. The anglerfish is perfectly suited for these environments, with the light from its head attracting prey right into its gaping mouth, allowing the fish to effectively find food without expending energy through chasing.
With its appearance at the surface, the anglerfish became a celebrity in no time as countless social media posts were made, making speculations about the small fish’s journey from the dark depths of the ocean to the bright surface. Popular speculation was that the fish, born in the darkness and always the one to create the light, had wished to see the light greater than her own and had embarked on the days-long journey upwards, knowing it would cost her her life. “She was born in the darkness, and she died in the light,” netizens commented soulfully. Several users took to creating animations of the small fish as a tribute to its journey, expressing wishes for Disney to create a movie based on the phenomenon.
Romantic as it may seem, however, the anglerfish’s appearance at such shallow depths may have cause for alarm. Though the real reason behind the appearance is still unknown, with the fish’s body preserved at the Museum of Nature and Archaeology in Santa Cruz de Tenerife for research purposes, researchers have been speculating that changes in ocean climates and currents may have carried the fish upwards.
While this isn’t particularly shocking, the possibility brings attention to how climate change has been affecting ocean climates and, in the process, has affected the homes of diverse marine life. Ocean warming and acidification, changing ocean currents due to melting polar ice and shifting weather patterns, or even deep-sea mining and pollution could all have caused disruptions or unusual current patterns that might cause phenomena like the anglerfish’s appearance to happen again.
Again, we have to refrain from making any premature conclusions on the true cause of the deep sea fish swimming up to the surface of the water, but it may be worth raising questions about the existence of bigger underlying problems. As much as we love to see the Internet coming together to emotionally bond over the miracle journey of a small fish, we’d also love to see a little attention given to whether these are truly miracles or warnings.
Works Cited
Aulbach, Dan. “Anglerfish – or Folk Hero? Why This 6-Inch Deep-Sea Fish Won over the Internet’s Hearts.” TODAY.Com, TODAY, 26 Feb. 2025, www.today.com/life/anglerfish-viral-video-explained-rcna192570.
Bittel, Jason. “Scientists Capture Extremely Rare Footage of a Black Seadevil.” Animals, 11 Feb. 2025, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/black-seadevil-anglerfish-video-canary-islands#:~:text=It%20is%20indeed%20terrifying%2C%20but,the%20first%20time%20in%202014.).
Cohen, Li. “Video Shows Black Seadevil Fish, Usually Only Found in Lightless Depths of the Sea, Making Rare Swim near Ocean Surface.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 11 Feb. 2025, www.cbsnews.com/news/video-black-seadevil-anglerfish-swim-ocean-surface/.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect nor represent the Earth Chronicles and its editorial board.
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