ANN/THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN – A beach in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan has been covered by fish bones and scales. The remains are thought to have come from tonnes of dead fish which washed ashore in December.
Some 1,100 tonnes of dead sardines and other species of fish washed ashore the beach on December 7, 2023.
At the time, the municipal government collected 600 tonnes of them.
The white remains are believed to be the leftovers of the uncollected fish, which discomposed offshore and resurfaced. Municipal government officials confirmed that the bones and scales hit the beach on January 4.
The remains do not smell rotten, and no damage has been reported to local fishing activities.
The massive amount of dead fish might have washed ashore after suffering a lack of oxygen as they swam in packed conditions while being chased by predators, said an official at the Hakodate Fisheries Experimental Station, offering one possible scenario. “Or the fish could have been weakened to death after wandering into cold water while moving south,” the official added.
