Dutch scientists have been left baffled after 20,000 dead or dying seabirds washed up on North Sea beaches in a phenomenon not seen for decades.

The fish-eating guillemots have been washing up between the northern Wadden Islands and southwestern Zeeland - all showing symptoms of severe starvation, a marine biologist said.

However the bird deaths are confined only to Dutch shores, with nothing reported in Belgium or Germany. 

Scientists are now planning a mass autopsy of hundreds of dead birds next week, hoping to shed more light on the mystery.

'What's killing them is the million-dollar question,' Mardik Leopold, a maritime researcher for Wageningen University, told AFP.

Dutch media have raised the question of whether the deaths may be linked to a recent container spill, littering the Dutch and German coast lines with debris, including plastic toys, polystyrene, shoes and at least one bag with a dangerous powder identified by authorities as 'organic peroxide.'

But Leopold said an initial autopsy on a small number of birds showed 'no plastic' in their stomachs.

Similarly, if the birds were affected by a chemical, other animals would also have shown symptoms, the marine biologist said.

Dutch authorities said Wednesday they had been told by the MSC shipping company that at least 341 containers were lost off the MSC Zoe as it was battling a storm last month. 
However, the species is not threatened with extinction. Some two million guillemots live in the North Sea, the NOS public broadcaster said.

Source: Mail Online

BDST: 2200 HRS, FEB 6, 2019
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