Thousands of fish mysteriously appear on shore and disappear in under 24 hours

Experts puzzled by the phenomenon

Locals snapped photographs of a "highly unusual" event that transpired at Buddinna Beach, Queensland last Wednesday. While residents said they never saw anything like it before, some environmental experts admitted they were also stumped by the phenomenon.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - Thousands of fish reportedly washed up on the beach one afternoon and disappeared in less than 24 hours.

In Sunshine Coast Daily, local resident Susan Shearda said that it was low tide when she saw the fish scattered across the shore. "Some of them were still alive, flipping around and I threw a few back in the water. But there were too many." 

She was walking by the beach on Wednesday afternoon when she saw thousands of fish on the shore. She took some pictures of the sight and later explained that in her 10 years living at the Sunshine Coast, she has never seen anything like that. 

Ichthyologist Jeff Johnson at the Queensland Museum said what the photos show is "highly unsual" considering that it was an open, ocean beach. He explained that there is not much to be learned without doing an actual site inspection to determine the cause.

Owen Benedick, from the Wappa Falls Observatory, suggested the phenomenon was likely the result of an environmental issue, not the tide.

"King tides and really low tides are associated with a full or new moon, but it is not either of these at the moment. Whales and dolphins can get lost with solar events, but not fish. It has to be an environmental issue," Benedick explained.

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