
Thousands of dead sardines and anchovies washed up on Saturday on Coliumo beach in the Biobío region in Chile. “We came down at about midnight, and it was full with anchovies,” a local said.
Environmental officials are investigating the water quality to determine the cause of death. Some locals gave low oxygen levels in deeper waters as the reason for the animals’ death, with fish having to swim closer to the shore in search of oxygen nutrients.
According to local news media Biobio Chile, dead fish washed up several times in the region last year. Authorities said a low amount of oxygen in the water was why the animals died then.
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