Researchers are of the belief that over 1 billion sea creatures have died due to the record-breaking heatwave recorded in the Pacific Northwest.

heatwave fishes deadRepresentational Image: Getty Images

This is according to Chris Harley, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia in a conversation with CBC (highlighted by Gizmodo). Chris revealed that he was ‘stunned’ while walking along Vancouver’s Kitsilano beach only to see thousands of mussels cracked open with meat inside, indicating their recent death.

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This was the result of the crazy hot temperatures in Vancouver coupled with the terrible timing of the tides. Harley reported that during the June heatwave when temperatures reached 40 degrees celsius in Vancouver, his lab actually recorded temperatures of 50 degrees celsius along the shoreline. This subjected the crustaceans like mussels, clams to such temperatures for over six hours when the tide went out.

heatwave fishes deadChris Harley

Harley explained, “A mussel on the shore in some ways is like a toddler left in a car on a hot day. They are stuck there until the parent comes back, or in this case, the tide comes back in, and there’s very little they can do. They’re at the mercy of the environment. And on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, during the heatwave, it just got so hot that the mussels, there was nothing they could do.”

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heatwave fishes deadChris Harley

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He concluded by stating, “Eventually, we just won’t be able to sustain these populations of filter feeders on the shoreline to be anywhere near the extent that we’re used to.”

Tags: #Cooked, #getgreengetgrowing, #gngagritech, #greenstories, #heatwave, #northwest, #SalishSea, #sea, #shoreline, #underwater