Grey nomads and other travellers in the far north of Western Australia are being warned not to touch or eat any of the vast number of dead fish that are washing up on beaches there.
More than 17,000 fish have so far died in what is believed to be a naturally occurring ‘fish kill’. The fish have been appearing along a 60-kilometre stretch of coastline to the north of Broome for the past week.
As well as at least 37 species of fish, it is believed that at least some turtles and sea snakes have also been affected.
A Department of Fisheries spokesman said the fish kill had affected mainly small fish, with less than 3% recorded at longer than 30 centimetres. Near-shore species including leatherjacket, Spanish flag and northwest snapper were most severely affected.
The Department says there is no evidence of marine disease and suggests that higher than normal water temperatures, as well as warm weather and sustained onshore winds are major factors for the fish kill. Last week’s king tides caused shallow pools of water to bake in the sun, before being flushed out to sea.
It is believed the fish deaths were contained to a localised area before the carcasses were spread by strong tides.
Experts believe that the incident was a one-off event.
The Manari coastline is a popular place for locals and travellers alike to enjoy fishing, camping and swimming.
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