Millions of fish found dead in marine mystery

29 September 2006

GIJON — Hundreds of thousands of small fish, some of them anchovies and sardines, have been washed up dead on a beach in northern Spain.

It is the first time such a huge quantity of fish have been found in this condition anywhere in the country.

The fish were discovered on the beach of La Griega, in the town of Colunga, in Asturias.

Scientists believed they may have been chased by predators like tuna or sea bass.

Rising temperatures in the sea, which went up from 25C to 26C, could also have been responsible for making the shoals swim towards the shore, then become stranded on the beaches.

Luis Laria, president of the Study for the Protection of Marine Species, said: “It is possible that this could happen again shortly because there are large shoals of these small fish in the area.” 

Teams were working all Friday trying to clear the beach of the piles of dead fish.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news