Millions of anchovies _ a protected species in Europe _ have died in northern Spain after an unexplained mass beaching, officials said Friday, according to AP. The fish, all juveniles, were found stranded along large stretches of Colunga beach, 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of the port city of Gijon, a normally pristine seaside landscape in the province of Asturias. The specific type of anchovy is known as «bocarte» in Spain and is considered a culinary delicacy, said Luis Laria, chief coordinator of a marine protection unit working with the government. «More than three tons have been found so far, and our main _ untested _ hypothesis at the moment is that they tried to flee from predators and accidentally beached,» said Laria. The species is protected under a European Union directive and cannot be fished at present, Laria said, adding that had the beached specimens grown to full maturity they would have represented more than a hundred tons of potential breeders. «It's a bit of a disaster,» said Laria. «We can't fish them because they're so rare and now they've killed themselves.» Laria said that experts had studied the corpses and found no evidence of toxic chemicals that could have caused the beaching. «The likelihood is that a shoal tried to swim away from hungry dolphins or tuna,» said Laria. A factor that may have disoriented the fish is high water temperatures off Colunga, Laria said. «We measured sea temperatures between 25-26.5 degrees Celsius (77-79.7 Fahrenheit), which is very high,» said Laria. Laria added that such a mass beaching of rare anchovies is unprecedented in northern Spain. A spokesman for the Environment Ministry said that this type of anchovy was considered a «species susceptible to extinction» and was closely monitored by scientists.
