Overview

• Thousands of starfish were washed onto a wide stretch of Kirkcaldy beach in Fife on Monday during rough conditions.
• By Tuesday, heaps of dead and dying animals still covered the sand and even the paved footpath above the beach.
• Professor David Ferrier of the Scottish Oceans Institute said waves likely swept a dense seabed cluster ashore in a natural event.
• Ferrier noted starfish survive only minutes when fully exposed and advised returning any live specimens to the sea.
• WWF Scotland’s Dr Lyndsey Dodds said storm-driven strandings are typical and may become more frequent as climate change increases storm activity.