(CNN Spanish) — The residents of the department of Yoro, in central Honduras, benefit from a strange phenomenon that has surprised and amazed inside and outside the country, although its origin is unknown for certain: the so-called “rain of fish.”
The Regal Springs fishing company has been working with some area residents for two years to collect fish that residents say “fall from the sky” during storms, according to a press release.
According to the company, every time the phenomenon occurs, a family manages to collect approximately ten kilograms of fish. On average, families receive approximately US$6 for each kilo of fish.
The company created the Heaven Fish brand and assures that “more than 60% of the population participates in some way in this activity. Whether as farmers, collaborators in the distribution center, fish collectors with hammocks or workers in processing and packaging , all those involved in the production and distribution of derived products are considered fishermen of the sky,” according to their statement.
An inexplicable “rain”
“Until you see, you don’t believe, anyone who hasn’t seen it will never believe,” a resident told a local media about the “rain of fish,” which for years has been recorded in that area of the Central American country.
Residents have reported that small silvery fish, similar to sardines, fall from the sky at least once a year during intense rains that hit the region between the last week of May and the first week of June. The inhabitants of Yoro say that they are a blessing, but there are meteorological hypotheses that could explain this phenomenon.
John Knox, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Georgia, told Smithsonian Magazine in 2015 that, although it is not a phenomenon they can yet fully understand, “it would seem that a waterspout or tornado must occur somewhere. Something must happen to a lake that absorbs a quantity of fish or other material that is subsequently dumped elsewhere.”
CNN has not been able to find official studies on the Internet about the origins of the phenomenon or its impact on the local population and the Secretariats of Agriculture and Natural Resources have been consulted about it, without receiving a response so far.
Local media in Honduras say that residents of Yoro attribute the famous “rain of fish” to the intercession of priest Manuel de Jesús Subirana, a Spanish missionary who asked that the people of Yoro not lack food.
Despite the different explanations about the origin of the fish, the residents of Yoro can now collect the fish and market them. A tangible benefit of this phenomenon for a community where the estimated annual per capita income is a little more than US$3,000 per year, according to the Sociodemographic profile of Yoro published by the National Autonomous University of Honduras in 2022.
Regal Springs Honduras has provided its partners with the necessary tools to collect, clean and transport the fish to centers where they are packaged to be marketed with a designation of origin. “Thanks to the production of new products, as well as merchandise, locals will receive financial support of 80% of the sales generated,” indicates a press release from the company.
