Fast freezing at its natural best.
A shoal of herring was chased towards shore off the island of Lovund, Norway by cormorants. But the air temperature was – 7.8°C with a fresh Easterly wind and the sea froze so fast that the fish were trapped in “mid-swim” (or mid-flight)! Apparently the cormorants have not been able to get to them as yet. They will have to wait till the thaw — and that could be some time.
frozen herring lovund (image Norwegian Radio)
Norwegian Radio reports:
It was minus 7.8 degrees and the east wind made the bay freeze in a short time. The shoal of herring had been chased to the shore by cormorants, and apparently had not been able to get out into the open sea again, says Ingolf Kristiansen.
He was on a Sunday outing with his miniature schnauzer Anton when he came across the unusual sight. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It has not happened before here as far as I know”, he said to NRK.no.
Aril Slotte, Head of Pelagic fish at the Sea Research Institute, says it was not uncommon for herring being chased ashore by predators. “We know that whales scares herring at various locations in Tromso, so it is not inconceivable that this could happen with small herring and other fish being pushed up against the land”, he said to NRK.no.
In summer the bay is a popular swimming cove. A concrete wall has been built under water so that when the tide comes there is only seepage of seawater in from the open sea. ….
Frossen sei på Lovund – Foto: Hermann Mindrum
Related: Moose frozen in the ice
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