Thousands of starfish wash up on Fife beach

A mass stranding of starfish was seen on Kirkcaldy promenade in Fife

Thousands of starfish have washed up on a beach in Fife.

The animals were seen stranded on the beach front at Kirkcaldy promenade as well as on a nearby rocky section of the coastline on Monday.

Fife Coast and Countryside Trust said strong onshore winds could have led to the stranding.

Following an inspection, a spokesperson said it would allow the tides to reclaim the dead starfish while the Trust monitored the situation.

Anyone walking their dog on the beach is urged to keep it under control as starfish can be poisonous to dogs.

Starfish are vulnerable to strandings as they tend to live in shallow water

Helen Clark, 86, who has lived in Kirkcaldy for about 50 years, said: "I've never seen anything like it.

"But I did see the strong winds yesterday, because all this sand was blowing up, so that could be a reason for it."

Her son Andrew, who had travelled up from nearby Inverkeithing, said it was "very unusual".

The 61-year-old said: "I can't understand why they're all dead, first and foremost.

"Something's killed them. What it is I don't know. They need to get somebody down to have a look at it, I would say. But to see so many, it's amazing."

Fife Coast and Countryside Trust will monitor the situation at Kirkcaldy beach

A spokesperson for Fife Coast and Countryside Trust said that storm events and onshore winds can occasionally disturb the seabed significantly enough to dislodge the starfish.

They added: "Invertebrates (like starfish), crabs and other crustaceans are vulnerable to wash ups as they tend to live in or migrate to shallow water making them more likely to be swept on to our beaches as the tide ebbs and flows.

"It's common in the autumn and winter months but can happen all year round.

"An inspection of the sites took place this morning and at this juncture it's best to let the natural coastal process reclaim the dead starfish, however we will monitor the situation."

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said it was aware of reports of large numbers of starfish washed up on Kirkcaldy beach.

A spokesperson added: "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."

What is starballing?

Rough seas and strong winds are usually responsible for dislodging starfish from their seabed habit.

This can lead to "starballing" where starfish curl up to float with the current which can make them vulnerable to beach strandings.

Experts at Plymouth University's Marine Institute coined the term after observing starfish change their location in 2016.

It is thought that mass strandings of starfish could be caused by starballing

Dr Emma Sheehan said her team first observed the behaviour off the south coast of England more than 10 years ago.

She said: "During the survey, the tides and wind picked up and to our complete surprise, starfish started flying past the camera, with their arms curled into a ball shape.

"It was previously thought that the only mode of movement for adult starfish was to slowly crawl along the seabed.

"However, we now think that they can also use strong tides to relocate efficiently to other feeding grounds, or re-group with other starfish for breeding.

"We still do not know for sure and would love the opportunity to find out more about this amazing species."

People were advised to keep their dogs away from the starfish in case they ate one

She said the stranding in Kirkcaldy looked "particularly bad".

Dr Sheehan added: "Sadly, we think that this behaviour could explain why, now and again, we see starfish mass strandings - when tides and onshore winds align.

"If this is the case and people see living starfish on the beach, it is probably worth assisting them back into the water."

Starfish can only survive out of water for a couple of minutes and may be preyed upon by crabs or birds.

It is thought that they washed up on Monday which was around the time of the full moon.

At this time, the sun, moon and Earth are in alignment which creates extra-high high tides and extra-low low tides.

Storm Arwen saw hundreds of starfish and other sea creatures wash up near Nairn in the Highlands in November 2021.

During Storm Emma in 2018, strong winds and large waves left hundreds of starfish and shellfish dead on miles of beaches in West Norfolk.

And in 2017, thousands of starfish were stranded on a beach on Black Isle on the Moray Firth over a period of weeks due to starballing.