Thousands of kilos of dead sprats wash ashore in Turku Archipelago

print this

In the Turku Archipelago, south of the island of Aspö thousands of kilos of dead sprats (Sprattus sprattus, the European sprat) have washed ashore on many of the islands.
      The occurrence has proved a real feast for the thousands of seagulls that have found their way to the outer archipelago, where no seagulls are normally seen in the winter months.
      The incident was first reported by the Turku-based Swedish-language daily Åbo Underrättelser in its Wednesday issue.
     
According to local resident Monica Aaltonen, on the rocks of the island of Aspö alone, around a thousand seagulls were seen on Wednesday.
      Immediately, either poisoning or a broken trawl-net from a fishing vessel were suspected as reasons for the appearance of tons of dead sprat.
      Executive director Kaj Mattsson of the Turunmaa Fish Association says that he has never before heard of a similar incident in the archipelago.
      On Saturday night there was a storm that may have washed the dead fish ashore. The speed of the south-westerly wind was measured at 26 metres per second.
     
In nearby Jurmo, some yellow floats were found carrying the registration number of a Swedish fishing vessel. The Finnish authorities are currently trying to ascertain if a fishing vessel has indeed had a trawl mishap in the open sea.
      A large trawl-net may contain 20-30 tons of fish. According to Mattsson noone wound deliberately waste fish, as "it would be like tossing away money".
      This might have been done in the 1980s, where the demand for sprat was low. Today it is sold to fodder manufacturers.
     
Local resident Tore Johansson does not believe the fish have died of poisoning, either. The seagulls seem to devour them without difficulties, as does his neighbour's dog.
      The biggest problem with the dead fish washed ashore is going to be the smell, once the spring sun starts to warm the rocks. “There are too many fish out there even for the voracious appetite of the seagulls", Johansson suspects.


Links:
  European sprat, Sprattus sprattus (Wikipedia)

Helsingin Sanomat