'Starfish apocalypse' as thousands wash up on beach in Fife

Locals were left shocked after thousands of dead starfish washed up on a popular beach in Fife.

Pictures were shared on social media showing hundreds of the species discovered along Kirkcaldy beach on Monday.

People sharing images of the scene likened it to a “starfish apocalypse”, however, experts say the mass stranding is likely due to natural causes.

Pictures were shared on social media showing hundreds of the species were discovered along Kirkcaldy beach on Monday. Fife Jammer Locations

Dr Lyndsey Dodds at WWF Scotland said although it’s “disturbing” to see so many starfish washed up in one place, it’s likely to be a natural event.

“It’s not totally clear why this has happened, the most likely cause is a natural one such as increasing storms and high tides,” she told STV News.

She added that there have been stormy conditions out at sea and starfish’s response to that could be a factor in the volume of them that washed up on the beach.

“What the starfish actually do in storm conditions is they roll up into a ball and they move with the waves and currents. So that can result in hundreds and thousands of them all coming together in one place,” she said.

Professor David Ferrier, from the Scottish Oceans Institute at the University of St Andrews, said Monday’s heavy seas are a “likely explanation” for the stranding.

“If these heavy seas and strong currents caught an area of the seabed with lots of these starfish, then they will simply have been caught up in the waves and washed ashore,” he said.

“This is most likely an unfortunate – for the starfish – natural event. Nothing to be worried about.”

He added that starfish can survive out of water for a short period of time, but “only really for a matter of minutes if they are completely high-and-dry”.

He went on: “If they are still alive when found, then it is worth putting them back in the sea and they may well recover and be fine.

“It is easy to see if a starfish is alive or not, as the hundreds of tube feet with suckers on the animal’s underside will be slowly moving around trying to gain a purchase on something.”

This isn’t the first time a mass starfish stranding has happened in Scotland – a similar incident occurred in 2023.

“We did see this a few years ago in a similar location, so it does happen. The population of common starfish is relatively healthy so it shouldn’t have much of an impact,” Dr Dodds said.

However, she added that the strandings could become more common as climate change increases the number of storm events in Scotland.

Dr Dodds continued: “Unfortunately with climate change we are seeing increasing storm events so it could be that we see more storms which could lead to more and more strandings like this. Which could potentially impact marine life.”

A spokesperson for SEPA said: “We are aware of reports of large numbers of starfish washed up on Kirkcaldy beach in Fife.

“This is a natural occurrence. Events like these are usually the result of recent stormy weather and strong waves, which dislodge starfish. During spawning, this can result in large numbers being washed ashore.

“These events are part of the natural cycle of marine life, and similar incidents have been reported along the east coast of Scotland in previous years.”

Marine Conservation Society has been contacted for comment.