An18-Foot-Long Oarfish Carcass Was Discovered Off Catalina Island [VIDEO]

Just what is an oarfish? According to Wikipedia, "Oarfish are large, greatly elongated, fish found in many oceans (mainly tropical), and are rarely seen." Well, an 18-foot oarfish carcass has washed up onto Catalina Island and the staff at Catalina Island Marine Institute are thrilled. But why?

They’ve got to be wondering what do you do with a very rare 18-foot-long fish, and a dead one at that. Should they use dynamite and blow it into pieces? Wait, that's been tried before.

According to The LA Tnmes:

Institute members are now mulling the fate of the dead fish. One option on the table is to bury it in 3 feet of sand, then let it decompose over a couple of months. After that, the skeleton of the fish would be mounted, and thus preserved.

Giant oarfish are rarely seen, dead or alive. By mounting the skeleton, it would continue to wow staff and visitors alike.

An instructor snorkeling in the waters of Toyon Bay on Sunday stumbled upon the carcass after seeing a "half-dollar-sized eye starting at her from the sandy bottom,"

My goodness, there really is such a thing as a sea monster!