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Tens of thousands of dead fish are washing up on Cornish beaches and no one knows why

Residents in Cornwall are baffled by the sight of tens of thousands of dead fish that have washed up on a beach for the SECOND time this month.

The carcasses, thought to be mackerel, arrived mysteriously on Marazion beach, stretching across the sands for “as far as the eye could see”, according to witnesses.

Katrina Slack took pictures of the grim scene after initially going to the beach to watch displays of starlings in flight.

Gruesome: Tens of thousands of the fish washed up dead on the shore (Caters)
Gruesome: Tens of thousands of the fish washed up dead on the shore (Caters)
Mystery: The dead fish stretched out for as far as the eye could see (Caters)
Mystery: The dead fish stretched out for as far as the eye could see (Caters)

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She said: “The first thing I came across was a dolphin already decomposing and as I approached the shoreline, I was astonished. It was almost as if the waves were made up of thousands of shimmering fish.

“The closer I got I realised the beach was just covered in dead fish and more and more were coming in with every wave. It was a horrible but breath-taking scene.”

Katrina said that even the seagulls weren’t interested in eating any of the fish, which her husband Shaun Plumb said may have been discarded by fishing fleets which were not allowed to land them due to European quotas on species which can be brought back to shore and sold.

Cruel: It is thought the fish may have been part of bycatch from a fishing boat (Caters)
Cruel: It is thought the fish may have been part of bycatch from a fishing boat (Caters)

He added: “I think they were already dead when they washed up.

“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.

“It’s just dead fish as far as the eye can see.”

Last week, thousands of dead fish – also believed to be mackerel – were found washed up on Pentewan Beach at St Austell.

Top pic: Caters