A large number of sardines were found drifting in the port of Erimo on the northern island of Hokkaido on May 19.

The port was filled with so many sardines that you couldn’t see the ocean; they covered the entire surface of the water.

A local fisherman discovered the dead sardines, about 20 centimeters in length and fishery cooperative staff worked to recover them by hand.

Fishermen used nets to scoop them up over and over again.

They also put baskets directly into the water to scoop up the large number of sardines.

There are still a lot of sardines swimming in the port.

According to fishery cooperative officials, about 14 tons of sardines were recovered on May 19 alone.

The exact cause is unknown, but it is believed that a large number of sardines suddenly swam into the port and became oxygen deprived.

At the time of this reporting, there has been no impact on fishing in the area.