One hundredth of a ton of tobacco, herring and salmon washed ashore on the West Coast.

Several hundred saltwater fish have been washed up on the shore of the fishing village Nørre Vorupør in Thy over the past few days. These include herring, cod and a few mature salmon.

Station leader at the rescue station in Nr. Vorupør, Benny Bak, has raised environmental concerns after finding hundreds of dead fish washed up in the sand. He is concerned.

- I came down here this morning, and there were many dead fish that had been driven ashore. There were also several hundred herring, but the seagulls have eaten most of them now.

- It looks strange that the fish are dying and washing up on the shore. There must be something wrong. Something that is causing them to be dead, says Benny Bak.

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He believes it is very unusual for the fish to wash up on the shore. And certainly not at this time of year, when the water is not so warm and filled with algae as in the summer.

- There was once a time many years ago when the fish also washed up on the shore. But not since, he says.

Benny Bak is also a coastal fisherman, and he wonders why such large fish as mature salmon are swimming in.

- It is not normal for them to do that. There is something wrong out there, he says.

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Many theories about the dead fish

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There are almost as many theories about the dead fish as there are people on the beach in Nr. Vorupør:

67-year-old Jan Larsen from Vorupør is one of the people who have seen the dead fish in the sand:

- I think someone has salted them or used them as bait on a fishing trip to the Yellow Bank. They wanted to use them as bait for fishing, says Jan Larsen.

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Jan Larsen uses the sea often, and he is not happy with the sight:

- I think it is sad to see dead fish on the beach. There is something wrong with the fish, for the seagulls they will not eat them once. There are about thirty seagulls circling around them, so I hope the seagulls will eat them, so we can clean up the mess, says Jan Larsen.

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It is therefore concerning

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Poul Erik Pedersen is a fisherman in Vorupør, and he is concerned about the dead fish on the beach:

- It is concerning. There is something wrong, for it is not natural, he says.

He is himself in the process of taking fish out of his net when we meet him on the beach. And the fish that he himself has caught, he is not concerned about:

Vorupør is known as a coastal fishing village, where the boats are rolled up on the beach like in the background. But right now, there are also dead fish being rolled up on the beach. (Photo: © Frederik Steinfath - DR Nyheder)

- I know they are edible. They are fresh. I know they are. My fish are caught at 20 meters depth and not in the shallow water where the dead fish are, says Poul Erik Pedersen.

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Will use tests first

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So far, it has not been possible to get comments from the Green Land Authority, where biologist Mikael Hjorth Jensen is concerned about so many fish being washed up on the shore. He will take a closer look at the situation now and will return when he has examined the incident.

We have also unsuccessfully tried to get a comment from the Nature Authority in Thy and the Danish Sports Fishing Association.

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