Rebecca Shepherd
This footage shows thousands of dead fish covering the sand at a popular Chilean beach after they washed up in strange circumstances:
Residents of Coliumo in the central Chilean region of Biobío woke up to the unusual sight of thousands of dead fish covering the coastline on Saturday morning (19 February).
The National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (Sernapesca) said it is sending a team of experts to the area to carry out an investigation and determine the exact cause of death.
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Images of the piles of dead fish covering the sand at Coliumo Beach were widely shared on social media.
According to local reports, the dead fish were mainly made up of sardines and anchovies.
The phenomenon was reported to the authorities by local fishermen and tourists visiting the coast that morning.
Sernapesca said it is assembling a team of experts to visit the scene, carry out tests, and establish the exact cause of the mass fish deaths.
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Many local residents said that something similar has occurred before, as the fish swim close to the shore in search of oxygen and nutrients.
The investigation is ongoing.
Something similar took place back in October 2020 when a huge number of small fish became stranded on a Welsh beach.
There was a huge number of sprats that washed ashore, causing quite a mess, but wildlife experts weren't particularly concerned as it's actually a fairly normal thing to happen.
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The sardine-like fish were discovered on Benar Beach in Gwynedd by fisherman Aeron Griffith, who was gearing up for a fishing excursion of his own.
He said: "I went out to collect some bait for fishing with a friend, we went down the beach and realised all these fish had obviously got stuck in a pool.
"As the tide has gone out it's left very little water in the pool, and with that many millions of them they starved of oxygen."
Speaking about the phenomenon, Natural Resources Wales tweeted: "Our officers received a report yesterday of a number of fish that have washed up on Benar beach, near Barmouth in North Wales.
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"The calm seas this week means that larger predators, such as seals or mackerel can often end up chasing smaller fish all the way on to the sand."