Hundreds of Dead Fish Washed Ashore

Several hundred dead mackerel, believed to have been dumped by a commercial fishing boat, washed ashore in Huntington Beach on Friday, but city officials said they posed no health hazard.

City spokesman Rich Barnard said about 100 of the fish washed ashore between the city pier and Beach Boulevard about 6 a.m. Another wave of about 300 washed ashore north of the pier about 11 a.m. Seabirds were making quick work of the dead fish, but the remainder were being gathered up by city workers.

“They had been dead for some time, and they were all about the same size, which leads everyone to believe that a fisherman on his way back to port dumped them in the water because they were dead,” Barnard said.