Ten of thousands of sea creatures were spotted dead on the Kent and East Yorkshire shores of the U.K. These include starfish, lobsters, fish, crabs, mussels, and other marine animals.
The sightings were horrific and the aquatic creatures were just frozen to death following an intense cold snap in the U.K., which weather authorities described as the “Beast in the East.”
Bex Lynam, from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said that there was a three degree celsius drop in sea temperature last week, which caused animals to hunker down and reduce their activity levels. He further noted that this made them susceptible to rough seas, and they became dislodged by large waves and were washed ashore when the harsh weather struck the region, as pointed out by The Guardian .
Meanwhile, on the east coast of Yorkshire, the mass strandings were blamed after Winter Storm Emma hit the area, which brought with it huge tides and gale force winds. These have triggered the mass of sea creatures washed on the beach.
Jack Sanderson, a commercial fisherman, together with a group of other fishermen, were trying to rescue some live lobsters and release them back into the sea. He described it as a war zone and chaos.
“Post-Apocalyptic” Images Show Masses of Dead Sea Creatures Washed Up in The UK https://t.co/t2Y5Q4RQp0
— Sean E Thomas (@AlaskanNovelist) March 6, 2018
Sanderson also said that they had strong easterly winds up, combined with a 6.2-meter tide. There were also spells of cold temps, frost, and snow, and the water temperature dropped two degrees in one day, according to the Sun .
Another reminder that the cold dip last week isn’t just an exciting extended snow day for Europe. Tens of thousands of dead sea creatures have been washed up on the UK’s shores alone, following a drop in sea temperatures. https://t.co/SdzcZPVWmB
— Tess Humble (@TessHumble) March 5, 2018
Another sighting of dead sea animals was found at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Holme Dunes reserve. Locals said that they spotted dead squat lobsters, crabs, whelks, sun stars, starfish, sea cucumbers, and sea anemones.
Meanwhile, Dr. Lissa Batey, a senior living seas officer at the Wildlife Trusts, stated that they could not prevent natural disasters like this. However, they could mitigate against the decline of marine life and create protected areas at sea. They guarantee that these areas could safeguard the marine animals, such as fish, dolphins, crustaceans and other marine life, to withstand natural events like this. They already designated Holderness inshore waters as a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) and would later announce more MCZs within this year.
