Thousands of dead fish have washed up on the shores of Costa Rica’s Gulf of Nacoya on the Pacific, covering beaches and dotting the coastline of beaches.
According to officials, sardine species at Abangaritos Beach in Puntarenas have mostly been affected but no exact cause has yet been determined. The bodies of the fish cover approximately two kilometres (1.2 miles) of the coastline.
Costa Rica’s coast guard have taken samples of the water to determine the cause of the incident.
“Most probably it was a natural phenomenon that caused this, that resulted in an increase in algae, and this caused a release of excess oxygen, and given that the fish are here in great quantities they could not breathe. That is what could have happened, given what we have to go off now. But it could also be pollution. Eight days after the samples are taken, we will know if there’s another theory,” said marine biologist for Costa Rica’s coast guard, Fredy Campos.
Authorities have urged locals not to eat the sardines.
(REUTERS)
