Thousands of dead fish mysteriously wash up on beach in Japan

Something seems fishy...

Hakodate is located on Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido.

Locals say that they have never seen anything like it before, and they have been urged not to eat the animals.

Made up of mostly sardines and some mackerel, the scene is somewhat of a mystery.

Thousands of tonnes of dead sardines and mackerel washed up on a beach in Hakodate, Japan, leaving a kilometer-long stretch covered in a silver blanket of fish.

Local residents, surprised by the unprecedented event, collected some for sale or consumption, despite authorities… pic.twitter.com/l3Z8adBhOJ

— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) December 8, 2023

However, Takashi Fujioka, who works at the Hakodate Fisheries Research Institute, says that the incident may have been as the result of the fish being chased by a larger animal.

He added that if they were densely packed, then a lack of oxygen could have led to the group washing ashore.

Fujioka explained that the incident comes during sardines' southwards migration season.

The researcher also explained that the decomposing bodies could affect the marine environment of the waters, as they could lower the oxygen levels.