Thousands of dead starfish wash up in Abergele, UK

Thousands of dead starfish have been found dead on the Pensarn beach in Abergele, UK after a period of stormy weather last week. 

The site was discovered on Sunday, February 1, 2015 by amateur photographer Gordon McGookin who said thousands of starfish and razor clams spread out across 500 meters of sand. 

Mr McGookin said for NewsNorthWales:

“I try to get out each day usually walking on the beach. It was Sunday when I spied them, just after the tide had gone out. There was thousands of them. I have never seen anything like it before. I was a bit concerned but I guess the recent rough sea and high tides over the last week or two was probably the cause.”

Video credit: Gordon McGookin

Charlie Lindenbaum, marine monitoring ecologist for Natural Resources Wales, said that this kind of event is relatively common along the coast of Wales. "The recent stormy weather and strong, northerly winds will cause creatures like this to be washed on the shore so it is most likely a natural occurrence."

“We would ask that if people do see things like this to report it to us. We can then investigate to make sure there is nothing else to blame for the event and it also gives us an opportunity to learn more about the fantastic species we have along our coast and does show the diverse and rich wildlife we have in Wales.”

Source: NewsNorthWales

Featured image credit: Gordon McGookin