Three giant ‘doomsday fish’ wash up in one week, but harbinger of calamity a damp squib, say experts

The carcass of a giant oarfish that was discovered on New Zealand’s South Island on 5 June. Photograph: baf85/iNaturalist

Bad luck comes in threes, according to the saying. And this week three ethereal oarfish, nicknamed “the doomsday fish”, have washed up on the shores of Australia and New Zealand.

Two headless specimens were found near Dunedin and Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island, following the discovery of an oarfish on Tasmania’s west coast on Monday.