Thousands of starfish wreaking havoc at Carrum Beach
Thousands of sea critters have washed ashore at a popular Melbourne beach, with hordes of people queuing up to catch a glimpse of the rare phenomenon. What are they and why are they here?
South East
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Thousands of starfish have washed up along the Carrum shoreline, with hordes of people queuing up to catch a glimpse of the rare sight.
Authorities have described the unusual sea phenomenon as a “significant die-off” of the Northern Pacific seastar, also known as the Japanese common starfish.
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Agriculture Victoria principal officer of invasive marine species Dr Richard Stafford-Bell said the seastars, a known pest, were first detected in Port Phillip Bay in 1995.
By 2000 a significant population had been established.
“There has been sporadic die-off of the seastar in the Carrum area since the middle of last year and this recent report indicates a significant die-off with about 1000 Northern Pacific seastars washing ashore,” Dr Stafford-Bell said.
He said the species were an “opportunistic predator” that consumed a large variety of prey.
“Bay users should be aware that marine pests can spread easily to new areas of Victoria through movement of recreational equipment such as boats, kayaks and canoes, and fishing equipment.”
Dr Stafford-Bell said the seastars were not dangerous to people or domestic pets and warned beachgoers not to return them to the shoreline.
Carrum and Patterson Lakes Forum founder Cameron Howe said dozens of people had visited the beach to see the phenomenon.
“There’s thousands of them that have washed up on the shore and the biggest concern is there’s such a high volume of these parasites,” he said.
“Two 240L bins were filled on Wednesday by two men ... I’ve never seen such a large cluster of them.”