TOKYO – Thousands of tons of useless sardines have washed up on a seashore in northern Japan for unknown causes, officers stated Friday.
The sardines and a few mackerel washed ashore in Hakodate on Japan’s northernmost predominant island of Hokkaido on Thursday morning, making a silver blanket alongside a stretch of seashore a couple of kilometer lengthy.
Residents stated they’ve by no means seen something prefer it. Some gathered the fish to promote or eat.
The city, in a discover posted on its web site, urged residents to not devour the fish.
Takashi Fujioka, a Hakodate Fisheries Research Institute researcher, stated he has heard of comparable phenomena earlier than, however it was his first time to see it.
He stated the fish could have been chased by bigger fish, turn into exhausted as a consequence of a scarcity of oxygen whereas shifting in a densely packed faculty, and have been washed up by the waves.
The fish additionally could have out of the blue entered chilly waters throughout their migration, he stated.
The decomposing fish may decrease oxygen ranges within the water and have an effect on the marine setting, he stated.
‘We do not know for positive below what circumstances these fish have been washed up, so I don’t suggest’ consuming them, Fujioka stated.