In a bizarre phenomenon, thousands of dead fish, including sardines and mackerel, washed up on a beach on Thursday in Japan's Hakodate area, located on the main island of Hokkaido. The dead fish created a kilometer-long 'silver blanket' on the beach and left residents in complete shock, with no confirmed reason as to why this happened.
Some local residents gathered the fish apparently for sale or consumption, despite town authorities warning people against eating the fish due to unknown circumstances.
Takashi Fujioka, a researcher at Hakodate Fisheries Research Institute, said that he had heard of similar phenomena before but witnessed it for the first time.
He said the fish may have been chased by larger fish, become exhausted due to a lack of oxygen while moving in a densely packed school, and were washed up by the waves. The fish may have also suddenly entered cold waters during their migration, he mentioned.
Fujioka warned that the decomposing fish could lower oxygen levels in the water and affect the marine environment. "We don’t know for sure under what circumstances these fish were washed up, so I do not recommend eating them," he said.
"It’s likely some of the Japanese sardines, which should have already moved south and left the Sea of Okhotsk, were left behind in the area. It can be assumed that the fish died from exposure to water temperatures below their optimum temperature for survival due to the drop in water temperature," The Japan Times quoted Nobuyaki Tanaka, chief researcher at Abashiri Fisheries Research Institute.
After the wash-up, city officials were seen inspecting the site the next day and trying to collect the fish, while residents collected them to sell or eat, despite warnings.
(with inputs from AP)
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