All the heartbreaking reasons the anglerfish might have swam to the surface of the sea

That video of the anglerfish swimming up to the surface of the sea has honestly been playing in my head on repeat since I’ve seen it, but I’m still intrigued as to why exactly it swam to the top.

Whilst it’s made for some very inspirational and emotional memes there is still the main question as to why the anglerfish swam to the surface, but it turns out there are a few reasons why.

Bruce Robison, a senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, shed some light on the reasons behind the fish’s unusual behaviour in an interview with National Geographic.

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

Both he and Kory Evans, a fish biologist at Rice University, were stunned by the video of the anglerfish, with Kory adding that he “thought it was AI.”

Kory explained he was amazed the fish was even able to swim due to extreme pressure changes, 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.”

He added: “These fish look ferocious and fearsome, but they’re mostly soft and squishy.”

Whilst there’s no way to know exactly why the anglerfish swam up to the surface of the sea from the depths of the ocean it seems there are a few scenarios.

Bruce revealed:  “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.”

Tiny and mighty. “And in the end, I found the light” #rip #anglerfish pic.twitter.com/1oTip50tHu

— Galactic Shaman Ellen Redd (@EllenRedd) February 15, 2025

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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.

The final possible reason is that the anglerfish could have been swallowed or caught by a larger predator such as a pilot whale, seal, sea lion, or even a jellyfish. The predator could have swam closer to the surface than the anglerfish would have usually travelled before spitting it out or it could have escaped.

Sadly the anglerfish met a tragic demise after about an hour of being monitored in the water, with scientists speculating it was most likely from its injuries.

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