Watch: Thousands of Fish Wash Ashore on Beach Near Acapulco

By Tim Binnall

A weird incident in Mexico saw thousands of fish wash ashore near Acapulco and residents rushed to the location to scoop up the unexpected feast. The strange event reportedly occurred last week in the community of Pie de la Cuesta, when a massive school of horse mackerel appeared on a beach. A popular tourist destination, the town has suffered greatly due to the coronavirus as many residents have lost their jobs due to the lack of visitors to the area.

As such, the sudden appearance of thousands of largely still-living fish on the beach was seen as something of a blessing. In a video of the odd scene, adults and children from the area can be seen gathering the creatures in buckets as well as the back of pickup trucks, including one that was filled to the brim with fish. Alongside the excited chatter of the proverbial beachcombers are the eerie sounds of the animals flapping their fins as they gasp for air.

A local wildlife official who oversees the beaches dismissed concerns that the event was caused by a lack of oxygen in the water or the coronavirus, which some people strangely suspected of being the culprit. Instead, he explained that the fish were likely attempting to feed on some sardines that were nearby and wound up accidentally beaching themselves. While that was undoubtedly an unfortunate turn of events for the horse mackerel, the hungry community seemed to be pretty thrilled at their luck.