Mysterious Mass Die-Off: Millions of Anchovies Wash Ashore in Southern Morocco

The authorities of Sidi Ifni are trying to find an explanation for this significant fish mortality. For the moment, the causes of this phenomenon remain unknown. The investigations carried out by the Maritime Fisheries Commission and the National Fisheries Institute have not yet yielded any results. It is difficult to provide a precise explanation for this phenomenon because the available information and images are not accurate, explains an environmental expert in a statement to the Al3omk website.

But the migration of fish fleeing large cetaceans is not the cause of this phenomenon, assured the expert, who points out that the anchovy, like the sardine and other fish, lives and migrates in groups and uses the evasion method, a form of camouflage, to escape predatory fish. This hypothesis "remains unlikely," says the expert, estimating that this massive fish death would be the work of fishermen who are in the habit of dumping excess quantities of fish to reduce the weight of their boats.

These fish have washed up on the coasts of Sidi Ifni after being carried by the sea currents, the expert added, also ruling out the hypothesis that high temperatures and climate change would be the cause of the death of these fish. "The phenomenon has not affected other species, which confirms that the incident is not related to climate change or pollution."