The idea of the most important fisheries scientist in the United States badgering a small-town fisherman for his recollections of a long-dead fish now seems absurd. However, scientists at the time had to rely on such chance encounters to find and identify new species. Without the technology that allows today’s scientists to observe sea creatures in their own environment, any strange sighting by a fisherman warranted attention.

To a modern marine scientist, the Sea-Side Press’s description of the creature—“25 feet [7.6 meters] long” and “shaped like an eel” with a “flat” head—suggests it was an oarfish.