Residents and tourists have reported unusual sightings of octopi, fish, and even sharks washed ashore along beaches in Swakopmund.
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The phenomenon followed heavy rainfall that caused the nearby Swakop River to surge into the ocean on April 1.
The Swakop River’s rare flow into the Atlantic Ocean—a phenomenon last observed in 2022—is said to have triggered the ecological disruptions along the coast.
The Swakop River flows only after heavy inland rains, carried freshwater, sediments, and organic matter into the ocean.
As per the Namib Times, these changes can disorient marine life or lead to suffocation due to hypoxia, a condition triggered by oxygen depletion. Hypoxia occurs when freshwater layers over denser saltwater, preventing proper oxygen mixing.Nutrient runoff can also fuel algal blooms, which decompose and further deplete oxygen, it adds.
As per the publication, Walvis Bay resident, Mr Shane Westerdale who reported the washing up of sea life on the beach between Afrodite Beach and Bird Island, various kinds of dead sea creatures were strewn across the beach, including crabs, crayfish, small fish and even small sharks.
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