Rare phenomenon as hundreds of thousands of starfish wash up on Kirkcaldy beach in Fife

The mass stranding on Kirkcaldy beach has seen huge sections of the beach covered by piles of the marine invertebrates – and several theories have been put forward as to why it has happened.

The starfish were washed up by high tide on Monday night. There were also thousands deposited on the Promenade walkway next to the Basin car park. Only a few in pools of water appear to have survived.

At low tide on Tuesday morning, the starfish could be seen along a large stretch of the beach, with thousands upon thousands left among the rocks, and in the sand.

Many people have been at the beach to witness the rare sight, with some trying to help the starfish that were still alive by taking them back into the Forth. While starfish are still alive when they get washed up, most can only survive being out of the water for just a matter of minutes.

The mass beaching comes after a very rare, big south east swell at the weekend.

Helen Clark, 86, who has lived in Kirkcaldy for about 50 years, said: “I’ve never seen anything like it. But I did see the strong winds yesterday, because all this sand was blowing up, so that could be a reason for it.”

Her son Andrew, who had travelled up from nearby Inverkeithing on Tuesday, said it was “very unusual”.

The 61-year-old said: “I can’t understand why they’re all dead, first and foremost.

“Something’s killed them. What it is I don’t know. They need to get somebody down to have a look at it, I would say. But to see so many, it’s amazing.”

Professor David Ferrier, from the Scottish Oceans Institute at the University of St Andrews, said Monday’s heavy seas were a “likely explanation” for the stranding.

“If these heavy seas and strong currents caught an area of the seabed with lots of these starfish, then they will simply have been caught up in the waves and washed ashore,” he said.

“This is most likely an unfortunate – for the starfish – natural event. Nothing to be worried about.”

Prof Ferrier said starfish could survive out of water for a short period of time, but “only really for a matter of minutes if they are completely high and dry”.

He added: “If they are still alive when found, then it is worth putting them back in the sea and they may well recover and be fine.

“It is easy to see if a starfish is alive or not, as the hundreds of tube feet with suckers on the animal’s underside will be slowly moving around trying to gain a purchase on something.”

In 2024, thousands of starfish washed up on the north Wales coastline.

A spokesperson for Fife Coast and Countryside Trust said storm events and onshore winds from time to time could disturb the seabed significantly enough to dislodge the starfish from the surface.

The spokesperson said: “Invertebrates, like starfish, crabs and other crustaceans, are vulnerable to wash ups as they tend to live in or migrate to shallow water, making them more likely to be swept on to our beaches as the tide ebbs and flows. It’s common in the autumn and winter months but can happen all year round.

“An inspection of the sites took place this morning and at this juncture, it’s best to let the natural coastal process reclaim the dead starfish. However, we will monitor the situation.

"We would advise dog walkers to have their dogs under control just in case they tried to ingest a dead starfish.”