• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
dead fish on a Japanese beach

Watch: Tons of Dead Fish Mysteriously Blanket Japanese Beach, Puzzling Scientists Searching for Reason

December 9, 2023
‘No Great Big Grand Final Bargain’: Brit Hume Says Deal With China Still ‘Has A Long Way To Go’

‘No Great Big Grand Final Bargain’: Brit Hume Says Deal With China Still ‘Has A Long Way To Go’

June 11, 2025
‘Who’s Gonna Do Your Manicure?’: Jessica Tarlov Yells As Watters Presses On Deportations

‘Who’s Gonna Do Your Manicure?’: Jessica Tarlov Yells As Watters Presses On Deportations

June 11, 2025
Big Tech Whistles Along While World Rides Trump-Musk Rollercoaster

Big Tech Whistles Along While World Rides Trump-Musk Rollercoaster

June 11, 2025
Democrat Rep Goes On Unhinged Rant About Her Own Lady Parts

Democrat Rep Goes On Unhinged Rant About Her Own Lady Parts

June 11, 2025
Air Force Loses Appetite For Shiny Fighter Jet With Huge Price Tag

Air Force Loses Appetite For Shiny Fighter Jet With Huge Price Tag

June 11, 2025
State Department Authorizes Middle East Evacuations As Iran Speculation Swirls

State Department Authorizes Middle East Evacuations As Iran Speculation Swirls

June 11, 2025
Maxine Waters Blames Trump For LA Violence She Previously Claimed Wasn’t Even Happening

Maxine Waters Blames Trump For LA Violence She Previously Claimed Wasn’t Even Happening

June 11, 2025
FBI Admits What Its Fmr Director Wouldn’t Say About Biden’s Afghanistan Withdrawal

FBI Admits What Its Fmr Director Wouldn’t Say About Biden’s Afghanistan Withdrawal

June 11, 2025
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Right Thing To Do’: Thune Goes To Mat For Medicaid Reforms In ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Right Thing To Do’: Thune Goes To Mat For Medicaid Reforms In ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill

June 11, 2025
Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson Dies at 82

Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson Dies at 82

June 11, 2025
REP MICHAEL CLOUD: It’s Time To Get Serious About Ending Washington’s Wasteful Spending

REP MICHAEL CLOUD: It’s Time To Get Serious About Ending Washington’s Wasteful Spending

June 11, 2025
EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Groups Urge Senate To Finally Confirm Trump’s IRS Chief, Root Out Obama-Era Deep Staters

EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Groups Urge Senate To Finally Confirm Trump’s IRS Chief, Root Out Obama-Era Deep Staters

June 11, 2025
  • Donald Trump
  • State of the Union
  • Elon Musk
  • Tariffs
  • Congress
  • Faith
  • Immigration
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
  • Login
IJR
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls
No Result
View All Result
IJR
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Watch: Tons of Dead Fish Mysteriously Blanket Japanese Beach, Puzzling Scientists Searching for Reason

by Western Journal
December 9, 2023
in News
237 15
0
dead fish on a Japanese beach

Thousands of dead fish washed up on a Japanese beach, Dec. 7, 2023. (Daily Mail video screen shot)

491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Dead fish covered a Japanese beach for nearly a mile three months after authorities began the release of radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant.

The fish were mostly sardines, but some mackerel were included in the “thousands of tons” that the U.K.’s Daily Mail said washed up on the northernmost main island of Japan, Hokkaido, Thursday morning.

[firefly_embed]

[/firefly_embed]

Similar instances of dead fish washing ashore occurred this summer on the coasts of Texas and Thailand, according to reports from NPR and CNN at the time. In both of those cases, scientists blamed climate change.

“Water can only hold so much oxygen at certain temperatures, and certainly we know that seawater temperatures are rising,” Katie St. Clair, the manager of the sea life facility at Texas A&M University at Galveston, told NPR at the time of the Texas incident. “It is concerning and something that needs to be monitored.”

Since warmer water holds less oxygen, it can support fewer fish, Quintana Beach County Park official added. The effect can be even more pronounced in shallower water.

In Thailand, Thon Thamrongnawasawat, deputy dean of the Faculty of Fisheries at Kasetsart University, told CNN that higher ocean temperatures caused more plankton blooms, which in turn lowers ocean oxygen levels.

“Various natural phenomena, such as coral bleaching or plankton bloom, have naturally occurred for thousands to tens of thousands of years,” told the outlet. “However, when global warming occurs, it intensifies and increases the frequency of existing phenomena.”

While Japanese officials could not explain Thursday’s , one researcher provided the Daily Mail with a number of possibilities.

One of those would be similar to the Texas occurrence, in which it was posited that the fish in that case were unable to “breathe” in relatively shallow water along the beach.

The fact that sardines move in “densely packed schools” could have exacerbated the effect of the coast of Japan, Takashi Fujioka, a Hakodate Fisheries Research Institute researcher, suggested to the Daily Mail.

A sudden move from warmer to colder water during migration could have shocked the fish as well, Fujioka theorized.

It’s also possible that some larger predator chased the sardines to the point of exhaustion, he said.

“We don’t know for sure under what circumstances these fish were washed up, so I do not recommend eating them,” Fujioka added.

While the incident occurred only months after the release into the ocean of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima plant, there is nothing to link the two.

The previous occurrences in Texas and Thailand happened not only far from Fukushima, but before officials began releasing the treated water back into the ocean.

Moreover, similar events have occurred before even in Japan, but also before the radioactive water was released.

“[A]n undersea tunnel is being used to discharge the radioactive water treated by the Advanced Liquid Processing System, which uses a process called isotopic dilution to render the water less dangerous,” the Daily Mail reported Friday. “This process sees tritium — a less harmful radioactive isotope — added to the contaminated water which is subsequently mixed with ‘clean seawater,’ diluting the concentration of more harmful substances.”

Japanese officials have argued all along that the treated water is safe, though some critics have noted the lack of “long-term data” on the effects of tritium on ocean life, the outlet reported.


This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

Tags: animalsClimate ChangeCNNJapannuclear powerworld news
Share196Tweet123
Western Journal

Western Journal

Advertisements

Top Stories June 10th
Top Stories June 7th
Top Stories June 6th
Top Stories June 3rd
Top Stories May 30th
Top Stories May 29th
Top Stories May 24th
Top Stories May 23rd
Top Stories May 21st
Top Stories May 17th

Join Over 6M Subscribers

We’re organizing an online community to elevate trusted voices on all sides so that you can be fully informed.





IJR

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Trusted Voices On All Sides

  • About Us
  • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Editorial Standards & Corrections Policy
  • Subscribe to IJR

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Top Stories June 10th Top Stories June 7th Top Stories June 6th Top Stories June 3rd Top Stories May 30th Top Stories May 29th Top Stories May 24th Top Stories May 23rd Top Stories May 21st Top Stories May 17th