Starfish galore! Thousands of 5-legged creatures pop up along SC shoreline
Thousands of starfish lined the shore in Garden City, South Carolina on Monday morning.
Swimming around in shallow waters, the fish attracted beachgoers for photos and some brave ones picked up the five-legged creatures for a closer look. Many beachgoers say they’ve never seen anything like it.
Starfish began popping up along the shoreline over the weekend, mainly reported in the Garden City Beach coast area.
Ann Malys Wilson, interpretative ranger at Myrtle Beach State Park, said the starfish are known as Lined Sea Stars, and it is not uncommon to see the creatures pop up at any time throughout the year. The starfish can wash in after strong waves, and it can depend on the current, too, she said.
“We tend to see more sea creatures when it’s warmer water,” she said, adding the occurrence can happen during winter also.
Wilson encourages people to put the live fish back into the water, but be careful because the arms are fragile and can break. She also said people should refrain from taking the live fish home, though there are no rules against it as the starfish are not protected by federal or state laws.
The 5-legged creatures along the shore can either be dead or alive, said Dr. Sharon Gilman with Coastal Carolina University’s biology department.
“This happens along the Grand Strand sometimes in the summer,” she said. “If they are alive and not too far gone, you can throw them back in the water and they might live to see another day.”
Gilman said the sea stars are harmless to people.
This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 12:57 PM.
