Hundreds of dead starfish wash up in Edinburgh, Scotland
Photo Illustration
A photo from Wardie Bay taken this weekend has left locals saddened after they learned the reason hundreds of starfish had washed up on the shore.
Locals had been reacting positively to the picture which showed a number of the creatures floating in the water at Wardie Bay in Granton before other users pointed out that most were likely dead.
It’s not the first time locals in Edinburgh and the Lothians have reported similar sights on beaches in the area.
In February last year, a few hundred star fish washed up on the shore at Yellowcraig in East Lothian, with countryside rangers linking it to the effects of Storm Ciara.
In 2018, similarly sad sightings were also reported after Storm Eleanor, with marine experts explaining the creatures had likely died after being washed into the cold British seas.
It was one of the biggest mass strandings on record, and as well as starfish The Marine Conservation Society also reported that hundreds of lobsters and clams had washed up on shore.
But whilst it is an upsetting sight, experts have said previously it is not something to be overly concerned about and is a relatively common occurrence.
Dr Chris Mah, a starfish researcher from the Smithsonian Institute, explained in a post on his website that populations are usually able to bounce back.
Courtesy of edinburghlive.co.uk
Thousands of dead octopuses, starfish and other marine life wash up in Kamchatka, Russia
Thousands of dead octopuses, starfish and other sea creatures have recently washed up on the shores of the remote Russian peninsula of Kamchatka. The normally pristine waters surrounding Kamchatka have become discolored and developed an odd smell, say locals. Surfers say the water is mildly burning their eyes.
It turns out an unidentified pollution event may have spilled a slew of toxic chemicals into the water, according to recent news reports.
After reports from surfers and locals surfaced, divers confirmed a widespread mass die-off, and Greenpeace Russia called it an “ecological disaster,” according to The Guardian. Widely circulated photos and videos of the dead creatures sparked outcry from the public and speculation from local news outlets as to what could have caused it, CBS News reported.
The pollution seems to have badly hit the sea creatures that live at the bottom of the seafloor, wiping out as many as 95% of them in Kamchatka’s Avacha Bay, Ivan Usatov, a researcher at the Kronotsky Reserve and the Pacific Institute of Geography Kamchatka Gov. Vladimir Solodov, according to the Kamchatka government website. Usatov and other researchers studied the area around Avacha Bay by taking samples and diving to the sea-floor. “Some large fish, shrimps, crabs have survived, but in very small numbers,” Usatov said. But “the condition of marine mammals and birds is normal. On the shore, we also did not find any emissions of large dead sea animals, birds.”
It’s likely that this event severely disrupted the food chain as the animals that feed on those bottom-dwelling creatures will also die, the researchers said.
Last week, officials blamed the scores of dead animals on stormy weather. But a recent analysis of water samples revealed that it was contaminated with a number of potentially dangerous substances. The samples contained petroleum products, some of which were at levels that were four times above normal, Aleksei Kumarkov, the region’s acting Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology said, according to CBS News.
Courtesy of livescience.com
Thousands of starfish wash ashore along the Grand Strand in South Carolina, USA #Starfish #SouthCarolina #USA
Photo Credit: WDBJ
Beachgoers had the surprise of a lifetime this past weekend as thousands of starfish washed ashore along several Grand Strand beaches, including Garden City Beach and Myrtle Beach.
An expert from Ripley’s Aquarium in Myrtle Beach says the starfish appearing like this has to do with their feeding patterns, and said it’s likely the starfish followed their prey, such as barnacles and clams, into the inter-tidal zone.
Stormy weather can sometimes be another reason large masses of starfish wash ashore. As water currents become stronger, they are pushed onto the beaches.
While the starfish may appear to be stranded, they also have the ability to return to the water when they’ve been exposed for too long, so touching them is not recommended.
Courtesy of wvlt.tv
Hundreds of dead starfish wash up in Musselburgh, Scotland #StarFish #Musselburgh #Scotland
Illustration Photo
A RESIDENT made a strange discovery while out for some solitary exercise in Musselburgh during the coronavirus lockdown on Sunday.
Linda Wilkinson came across hundreds of dead starfish all along the beach, to the west of Fisherrow Harbour.
She said: “The sea was calm.
“Literally there were hundreds of dead starfish at least the size of an adult’s hand.”
An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “Our countryside rangers are uncertain but suggest that sustained very rough weather in relatively shallow water will have dislodged them and certain temperatures cause die off of different species.”
A spokesperson for the Marine Conservation Society added: “The stranding of the starfish is likely due to the weather we’ve experienced over the last week or so.
“We’ve had high pressure and associated easterly/north-east winds for over a week now, not quite on the scale of the Beast from the East but strong enough to probably cause these mass strandings.
“Whilst coming across these strandings isn’t pleasant, it’s worth remembering that they are a normal part of life in the sea.”
Courtesy of eastlothiancourier.com
Hundreds if not thousands of dead #starfish wash up on beach in #SouthHams, #UK
Credit: Emily Baker
Scientists have revealed what they think caused the mass stranding of hundreds of starfish on a beach in the South Hams.
Witnesses say they saw “hundreds if not thousands” of dead starfish swept onto Slapton Sands in Torcross at around 6.45pm on Monday, September 16.
Holidaymakers Martyn and Jill Worrall were leaving dinner at the Start Bay Inn when they witnessed the “surreal” occurrence.
Martyn said: “The waves were washing up hundreds if not thousands of starfish over about 100 yards of the shoreline in front of us.
“I went down onto the beach to see if they were alive, but unfortunately, they looked dead as they weren’t moving.
“There were more being washed in as I watched.”
The couple left shortly afterwards.
In 2016, experts at Plymouth University investigated similar cases of mass strandings and found that it occurs when starfish curl themselves into balls.
It is not known if the unusual phenomenon, known as starballing, is deliberate but marine research fellow Dr Emma Sheehan believes it could help explain why mass strandings occur.
She said: “We simply cannot say whether the starballing individuals were swept off the seabed by the strong tidal flow, or if the individuals allowed themselves to be transported.”
On Tuesday morning, around twenty lifeless starfish were spotted on the beach in front of the Start Bay Inn.
Nine years ago, a different beach in Devon attracted national news coverage after thousands of starfish washed up along a mile stretch.
Multiple news agencies reported the starfish were exhausted after spawning, causing them to drift onto the Budleigh Salterton shoreline.
Courtesy of southhams-today.co.uk
Hundreds of dead #starfish found on #Leysdown #beach on #IsleOfSheppey, #UK
Starfish washed up on the beach at Leysdown. Picture: Terry Hanlon (8197746)
Hundreds of starfish have been washed up on a beach.
It is likely they were blown ashore Leysdown by strong winds on Sunday. There have also been exceptionally high spring tides recently.
An Environment Agency spokesman said: “Swarms of starfish search the sea for tasty mussel beds but it can sometimes end badly for the ravenous invertebrates.
“It is not unusual for currents to wash large numbers of starfish onto the beach if they get too close to the shore searching for food.
“Once stranded on land, their fate is sealed. They dehydrate and die, as appears to have occurred at Leysdown.
“But starfish are the ladybirds of the sea and breed really quickly.
“Just one starfish can produce millions of larvae, meaning their numbers recover from mass fatalities like the one we’ve seen on Sheppey this week.
“Some of the dead starfish may get picked off by birds but they are not harmful to humans.”
It is not unusual for starfish and other marine animals to end up on the beach.
Last year starfish and dogfish were washed up all along the Kent coast from Sheppey to Ramsgate.
Ten years ago beaches at the eastern end of the Island made headlines when they were totally covered by starfish.
Most of the starfish this time ended up at Warden Bay.
Courtesy of kentonline.co.uk
Hundreds of dead #starfish found washed up in Kinmel Bay and #Prestatyn, #Wales
HUNDREDS of starfish have been found washed up on the beach in Kinmel Bay.
The sad sight, which also included fish, was spotted on Monday, January 28.
A resident, who asked not to be named, was out walking with her sister at about 1pm when they stumbled across the “horror”.
She said: “We were shocked and terrible saddened.
“The weather the night before was terrible and so windy. I actually walked to the sea wall and didn’t realise that, while I was taking in the view, all those creatures were being thrown around.
“I’ve recently moved to the area and one of the reasons why is because I love this coast and the wonderful wildlife here.”
Starfish and various shellfish were also spotted by residents on the beach near the Nova in Prestatyn.
Anne Williams said: “I was at the beach at about 10am. I was walking from the Nova towards the sailing club and a bit beyond.
“It was a very shocking sight and left me feeling quite sad and helpless.
“I found that a few of the brittle star type were still alive, so I put as many as I could back into the water, but I don’t know if it does any good.
“There were also a few urchins in amongst the masses of starfish and shellfish,” Anne added.
Gem Simmons, aquarist and mammal keeper at SeaQuarium Rhyl, said: “Unfortunately this is a very common sight during stormy offshore weather, especially along the coast of North Wales and slightly more common on Anglesey.
Courtesy of rhyljournal.co.uk
Tens of thousands of dead starfish wash up on a beach in Lincolnshire, UK
These shocking pictures show tens of thousands of starfish washed up on a Mablethorpe beach after days of stormy seas. Photo: SWNS
They are believed to have been dumped on the beach after rough seas in recent days ripped them from the seabed. Trevor Bradford was walking his Yorkshire Terrier on the beach at Mablethorpe, on a cold Thursday morning when he stumbled upon the stranded pink invertebrates.
The 69-year-old said: “I’ve never seen that many. There was a carpet of them as far as the eye could see.
“It went on for a good 200 yards and the thickest parts of it were about 10 yards across.”
“Over the last few days, the tides have been really rough. I don’t often see it that stormy around here. “The weather hasn’t been that windy, but there have been some rough tides that have made it a bit treacherous for people walking on the beach.”
Courtesy of louthleader.co.uk
Hundreds of dead starfish wash ashore in Goa, India
Scores of dead starfish washed ashore on Caranzalem beach just walking distance from the popular Miramar beach have baffled locals as their mortality had not been reported in recent years.
Courtesy of timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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