ANKARA

Hundreds of tons of dead sardines and mackerel fish washed up on a beach in northern Japan, creating a silver blanket that covered a 1.5-kilometer (less than a mile) stretch of shoreline around Toi fishing port in southern Hakodate on the northernmost main island of Hokkaido.

The Hakodate city government said on Friday that they are investigating the cause of the fish's mass deaths and considering how to remove the fish, The Japan News reported.

According to local officials, they discovered tons of dead fish on a large portion of the beach and advised people to avoid eating it.

Officials estimated that at least 1,000 tons of mostly sardines but some mackerel washed ashore on Dec. 7, but warned that the figure could be higher.

Beginning Saturday, city officials will work with local fishermen and the Hokkaido prefectural government's Oshima Regional Promotion Bureau to clean up the area and dispose of the dead fish.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid