Recently, a flatfish measuring about 170 cm is caught in the Busan waters. /Courtesy of KNN news report screen capture

The deep-sea fish known as the 'legendary fish' has been drawing attention as five individuals have been caught off the coast of Busan this year. Some have raised concerns that this could be a sign of impending earthquakes, but experts maintain there is no scientific basis for such claims.

According to a report by KNN on the 26th, a large fish measuring 170 cm in length and weighing 100 kg was recently caught in the waters off Busan. The captain of the fishing vessel that caught the fish noted, "I have been pursuing this for over 10 years, but I have never caught this many in a single year before," highlighting the unusual situation.

Amid the repeated appearances of deep-sea fish, theories about the 'Nankai Trough earthquake warning' have circulated on Japanese social media and some communities. Particularly in Japan, nearly 300 frequent earthquakes have occurred recently, leading to the spread of theories about a 'major earthquake in July.'

However, experts dismissed the possibility of a correlation. Park Jeong-ho, a researcher at the National Institute of Fisheries Science, explained, "The connection between deep-sea fish and earthquakes is merely a superstition and has not been scientifically proven," and added, "Just because there has been an increase in sightings recently does not necessarily mean it is due to an earthquake."

Professor Kim Young-seok from the Department of Environmental Geology at Pukyong National University stated, "The Nankai Trough earthquake typically occurs at intervals of 100 to 150 years, and we are still far from that cycle," indicating that the possibility of a major earthquake in July is low.