A bizarre and rarely seen sea creature that washed ashore in Gustavus, Alaska, was first thought to be a halibut by the government worker who spotted it. Jeff Jarvis of the Department of Transportation was checking out the dock when he made the odd discovery Thursday in the town that serves as the gateway to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.
“He was checking the dock and he noticed what he thought was a halibut,” Craig Murdoch, a National Park Service fisheries biologist, told Alaska Dispatch News. “He went and checked it out, and it was a fish he had never seen before.” Turns out, the sea creature was a ragfish, the second one to have washed ashore in the same area within six months.
A 78-inch ragfish washed up in Bartlett Cove in July. This one measured 65 inches, and like the other was a female full of eggs. Long-time Gustavus resident and naturalist Greg Streveler told Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve that these are the only observations of the sea creatures he is aware of in 40 years. FULL REPORT
