Scientists unsure what killed tens of thousands of herring: ‘A bit of a mystery’
HALIFAX — Scientists remain baffled by what has caused tens of thousands of dead herring to wash ashore along Nova Scotia’s southwestern coast, despite a battery of tests.
“What it is, is a bit of a mystery,” said David Whorley, director for Fisheries and Oceans Canada in southwest Nova Scotia.
The first sightings were reported late last month along the eastern edge of St. Marys Bay, and more dead fish were later spotted on beaches in the Annapolis Basin and farther west, near Pubnico, N.S. There have been no major sightings in recent weeks.
“We’ve made some progress and have ruled out a few things, but we haven’t found the actual cause yet,” Whorley said in an interview Wednesday.