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Droves of dead sea creatures have washed up on a UK beach in what is being described as ‘the worst’ case ever seen.
Lobsters and crabs in their thousands as well as a porpoise appeared on Teesside shores along the North East coast this weekend.
An expert told local media outlets it was ‘very concerning’, though it has not been unearthed what caused the occurrence.
Thousands of sea creatures die ashore
Some of the animals were still alive in piles ‘waist-deep’ before walkers tried to return them to the sea, Teesside Live reports.
And it’s been happening over the past few weeks, in a steady increase.
Residents told the outlet that ‘no-one is doing anything about it’.
It’s also being considered that the cause may be pollution, according to the Environment Agency.
A spokesperson told Teesside Live: “Samples of water, sediment, mussel, and crab have been collected and are being sent to our labs for analysis, to consider whether a pollution incident could have contributed to the deaths of the animals.”
‘Odd’ occurrence
An MP for the area is reportedly raising it with other ministers as the issue is a ‘continuing’ problem.
A sea-life pathologist at Teesside University, Dr. Jamie Bojko, told the BBC that there may be a range of explanations. “One could be an extreme weather event or another possibility is disease.
“But, it would be odd for it to have an effect on such a range of species, with everything from crabs and lobsters to fish species like dogfish and sharks and sole,” he said.
