Charlotte Varcoe
A LARGE number of marine life has washed up onshore off a popular camping site with locals stunned at the incident.
Earlier this week, marine life authorities were alerted to the incident while experienced fisherman and local resident Roger Cutting expressed his concerns.
Mr Cutting has lived along the shore line since the 1950s and said he had never experienced something like this before.
The marine animals washed ashore in front of his home and along an estimated one kilometre stretch of the popular swimming beach.
“I just thought there was something wrong in the sea and it is not to do with fresh water but it could be warming,” Mr Cutting said.
He said he believed government officials claiming an increase in fresh water takes to the ocean were wrong due to less fresh water going into the sea from what there was 20 or 30 years ago.
“I have lived here all my life and there was much more water because we had drains, they had machines to clear the growth in both creeks at Eight Mile and Deep Creek and a dozer each side and they dragged a big iron bar into the creek to clear it because there was that much build up on the ground the farmers were farming.”
Mr Cutting said since he had lived in the region, he had never seen an incident like this before stating the last time something similar happened to his knowledge was in the 1930s or 1940s towards Greenpoint.
Moving forward, he said government officials should look to the water to see what the cause was due to its irregular occurrence.
“I think they need to look and see the water more and see what may be the cause of it,” he said.
“It seems to only be in close to about two miles out and then it seems to be clear but I am not a scientist but there is something that has upset it and it is once in a blue moon that this happens.”
Mr Cutting said the general public remained concerned about the incident despite having ups and downs within the climate.
“There are things we might be able to fix but at this stage I think it is just the weather,” he said.
“We have the Bonney upwelling which has apparently happened but hopefully the scientists can sort it out.”
The Department for Primary Industries has been contacted for comment.
