The cause of the mass dying is still uncertain.
Thousands of tons of dead fish including sardines and mackerel washed up on a beach in northern Japan, leaving officials stumped. According to Metro, the fish washed ashore in Hakodate on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido on Thursday morning, covering a stretch of beach about half a mile long. After locals started collecting and selling the fish, officials posted a warning urging residents not to consume the fish.
Though the exact cause behind the mysterious incident is not known, experts have suggested some probable reasons. There has been speculation that the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant could be the reason.
Watch the video here:
Massive number of dead fish washing up along the coast of northern Japan pic.twitter.com/xeCn4yv5xB
— DeepCoverPatriot☦️ (@samuelculper3rd) December 7, 2023
According to Japan Today, Takashi Fujioka, a Hakodate Fisheries Research Institute researcher, said he had heard of similar phenomena before, but it was his first time seeing it.
”One possible cause is that the school of fish was chased by a larger fish, became exhausted, and was washed up by the waves. Another possible cause is that the school of fish entered cold waters during their migration and were then washed ashore. But details are uncertain,” Mr Fujioka suggested.
【カメラマンから】
午前中、市や道による手作業での漂着イワシ回収作業が行われました。２日目です。昨日より大幅に気温が低下した影響か、臭いはそこまで酷く感じませんでした(N) pic.twitter.com/ulBjMbCGfi— たまて函@【公式】北海道新聞函館報道部 (@tamate_doshin) December 10, 2023
In October, this year Japan released a second batch of wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, an exercise that angered China and others. On August 24, Japan began discharging into the Pacific some of the 1.34 million tonnes of wastewater that has been collected since 2011. The Fukushima power plant was wrecked after an earthquake and resultant tsunami in March 2011.
In the first phase around 7,800 tonnes of water were released into the Pacific out of a planned total of 1.34 million tonnes, equivalent to more than 500 Olympic swimming pools.
China banned all Japanese seafood imports after the first release, which ended on September 11, despite Tokyo’s insistence that the operation poses no risk. China also accused Japan of using the ocean like a “sewer”.