Wildlife biologists claim that recent storms could have battered hundreds of starfish to death along Heceta Beach in Florence, Oregon.  Oregon Parks and Recreation Beach Ranger, Trisha Wymore was shocked to see hundreds of pink stars and short-spined starfish lying on the shore.  She contacted the state Department of Fish and Wildlife in Newport what may have caused the deaths.  The scientists were just as concerned and baffled as she was.

After contacting Astoria and Coos Bay wildlife offices, they found no answers.  The starfish were only showing up dead on Heceta Beach.  In the 30 years the scientists have been in the area, they report they have never had a call about anything like this.

Over the weekend, there were storms in the area, causing 30 foot seas, which could have caused the phenomenon.  There was another storm a few days later, creating 17 foot waves.  So far, they have determined that this could be the culprit, or at least until more data is found.  The starfish brought in for analysis has shown no different cause as of yet.  The starfish didn’t appear to be traumatized in any way.

To back this theory, mussles and crabs, like the starfish, that live in the shallow sea waters in the area, have also washed up on shore, although not in the magnitude of the sea stars.

The scientists believe that although it is a possibility, this area was not alone in the stormy weather.  Storms hit all up and down the Oregon coast for the past several days, leaving Heceta Beach the only one with marine life deaths.  Storms in the past have never created this phenomena either.

Because the incident was so localized, scientists are considering low oxygen levels in the sea water of the area, or an outbreak of disease could be a possibility.  At this point, they have no evidence to back up either theory.  Scientists will be consulting with the Oregon State University biology department to conduct further tests.

Jess is in her 2nd year of masters, studying marine biology.
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