HUNDREDS OF DEAD fish have been found washed up on a beach in Bundoran, Co Donegal.

The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) confirmed that Killybegs-based officers travelled to Bundoran to investigate a possible fish kill incident after it received reports from members of the public.

The officers discovered “a significant amount” of horse mackerel on the shoreline yesterday evening. They inspected the fish on-site and established that many of them were bloated and full of sprat (a smaller fish).

“Having re-visited the site again this morning they have concluded that a shoal of horse mackerel, chasing sprat on an ebb tide on Tuesday evening, resulted in a sizeable number of the shoal stranding on the beach.

“This is not an unusual occurrence, although the scale of this incident is not typical,” a spokesperson for the SFPA said in a statement.

The organisation said it will liaise with Leitrim and Donegal county councils in relation to the incident, although most of the fish are expected to go out with the next tide.

A spokesperson for Inland Fisheries Ireland confirmed that the organisation also received reports yesterday afternoon of a “fish mortality”.

Fisheries officers based in Ballyshannon attended the scene and notified the SFPA.