Overview

• Thousands of flatfish and cod washed ashore over the weekend on beaches from Nienhagen and Warnemünde to Markgrafenheide.
• Authorities banned fishing for consumption in the affected coastal stretch, advised against bathing, and convened a crisis team.
• Measurements point to strong offshore winds pushing surface water seaward and drawing in oxygen-poor deep water that suffocated bottom-dwelling fish.
• Analyses by the Rostock state laboratory, including necropsies and screenings for roughly 420 substances, reported no contamination or signs of an outbreak.
• Experts tie the event to decades of nutrient loading and climate warming that intensify low-oxygen episodes and further imperil already depleted cod stocks.