(OPINION) The only thing worse than hundreds of fish washing up on the beach is hundreds of fish washing ashore on several beaches around the world at the same time.

And that is what happened last week, raising concerns that Hosea’s end-of-days vision of a wildlife apocalypse might be kicking in. Hundreds of dead fish washed up dead on Palmares Beach in the city of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico twelve days ago. The breed of fish, the largehead hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus), also known as cutlassfish, are elongated in shape with a thin pointed tail (they lack a fishtail in the usual form).

Therefore the land will mourn;
And everyone who dwells there will waste away
With the beasts of the field
And the birds of the air;
Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.
Hosea 4:3

The eyes are large, and the largemouth contains long pointed fang-like teeth. They grow to about 13 pounds and while most are only 2-3 feet long, some have been known to grow to over seven and a half feet in length. At least 200 of the fish were found washed up onto the shore.

Local fishermen indicated that it is not common to see this species near the beach, since they normally live in the deep ocean at around 130-1,500 feet. Authorities are now analyzing the cause of their mysterious death. A few hundred dead fish may not seem alarming but it was repeated just a few days later and on the other side of the world.

TV Asahi, located in Tokyo, reported that one week ago, dead sardines began washing up on the beaches of Wakkanai City, Hokkaido. The die-off was attributed to the abnormally cold weather. Though the cold-snap was unfortunate for the sardines, it allowed the locals to collect the fish before they spoiled. READ MORE