This is the incredible moment divers captured an extremely rare moment with a giant fish which is believed to predict earthquakes off the coast of Taiwan.

The giant oarfish with shimmering silver scales was spotted floating eerily upright near Ruifang District in Taipei.

It appeared to have several holes in its body which were believed to be bites inflicted while escaping from a shark attack.

One diver reached out to stroke the oarfish – which is colloquially known as an ‘earthquake fish’ – which flinched when touched.

The illusive marine animal, said to be a harbinger of earthquakes, measured at least 8ft long and had bulging round eyes.

Diving instructor Wang Cheng-Ru, who captured the encounter, said: ‘I was diving with the group and we immediately recognised the earthquake fish. It was a very special encounter, as I’ve never seen one in real life before.

‘There were holes in the oarfish’s body which probably came from a shark attack. I hope that this is not a bad omen.’

The diving instructor told said that the giant fish was near the surface as it is likely it was dying after the attack.

Oarfish can grow up to 26ft long and there have been unconfirmed sightings of the long fish of up to 50ft.

There is a popular belief that oarfish sightings are a warning of coming natural disasters, as they are said to appear before tsunamis or earthquakes. The connection has not been scientifically proven.

They are very rare to see in the wild as they typically swim at a depth of 650 to 3,300 feet – but they occasionally swim nearer the surface where they can be sighted.

Because they thrive in great depths, few of them can survive being pulled to shallow waters where currents are more turbulent.

A 20ft long oarfish was fished out the ocean off the Chilean coast in July 2022, prompting fears of an impending earthquake which fortunately did not come to pass.