CADIZ – Hundreds of dead fish have washed up on the coast of one of Cádiz’s beaches. It has never happened here before and authorities are still looking for the cause.
It concerns the Atlantic beach in Los Caños de Meca in the municipality of Barbate between Tarifa in the extreme south and Cádiz in the north.
Algae
Because the cause is still unknown, there is speculation about it. One hypothesis is that the death of the fish may be due to the number of algae on the beach. The beach to the left of the Trafalgar Lighthouse has been particularly affected. This beach is also known as Cala del Varadero or Marisucia Beach.
Witnesses quoted by Europa Press said no fish had been seen by late Tuesday. Therefore, they must have appeared at night or early in the morning when the tide came in.
Invasive species
The same people have pointed out that the beaches on this coast, also known as Costa de la Luz, have had an “impressive” amount of algae in recent years. That has been since the Asian algae appeared. Marine biologists view these as invasive species.
The alga is native to the Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Japan, China and Korea. It poses a threat to marine life in that zone. The fishermen’s federation in the province of Cádiz already called the presence of the Asian alga in 2019 an ‘ecological disaster’. According to them, the stonefish, has already disappeared because the algae now invade the rocks. De carnivorous fish lives on those rocks disguised as a stone.
Fish possibly suffocated
“Even if we remove the algae with machines or the tide itself moves them through the east or west winds, we see the bottom covered with algae. This prevents the fish from eating or they will suffocate, which could be the cause of this appearance.” According to residents who know the beaches well, this has “never happened before”.
A video of the amount of dead fish can be seen in La Voz de Cádiz.
