Here’s what tragically happened to the anglerfish after it swam to the surface

The video of that anglerfish swimming up to the surface of the sea has gone viral whilst simultaneously breaking my heart, but what happened to the fish once it swam up to the surface?

For starters, the marine wildlife team who captured the moment couldn’t believe what they were seeing and spent about an hour in the water, both swimming with and photographing the anglerfish.

Rare deep-sea anglerfish seen for the first time in broad daylight off the coast of Tenerife last week.
Usually they are found at depths of between 200 and 2,000 metres in the dark waters.
Sadly, it was in poor condition and only survived for a few hours but for his last day, he… pic.twitter.com/Qf1HQpEdvA

— ∼Marietta (@MariettaDaviz) February 11, 2025

David, one of the photographers, explained how shocked he was the anglerfish was even able to move, explaining: “Their whole deal is not moving. They are ambush predators. They kind of sit there, bobbing around, so seeing this one doing something active is kind of shocking.”

As for what happened to the anglerfish, about an hour after they first started photographing the fish it sadly died with it being suggested that it was already injured and was unable to survive, combined with the extreme change in pressure.

Whilst there’s no way to know exactly why the fish made the decision to swim up from the depth of the ocean it seems there are a few scenarios.

She was born in darkness and died covered in light. On the last day of her life, this anglerfish decided to take a journey to the sun.

A video captured by researchers yesterday in the shallow waters of the Canary Islands, shows the remarkable and menacing-looking fish. pic.twitter.com/adQLmhXeLe

— Esh (@esh_presh) February 17, 2025

A marine wildlife expert told National Geographic: “It’s possible that the anglerfish ate a fish with a swim bladder or gas gland, and as that gas kept expanding it drew the predator upward in the water column. It’s the sort of thing that, once you get started, it’s hard to control it.”

However, he added it could also be possible that the anglerfish was caught in a column of rising warm water which carried it up, as it was sighted near the Canary Islands which are known for their volcanic activity.

I genuinely think what happened to the anglerfish will stay with me forever, I’m getting teary-eyed just thinking about it.

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