Roughly 60 dead starfish were scattered on a stretch of beach about 1/4-mile long, showing potential signs of sea star wasting disease.
Approximately 700 dead mottled sea stars (Evasterias troscheli) found with appendages intact, which indicate that mortality event may be related to stormy weather.
A starfish that did not appear healthy.
Dead sea otter and star fish
Near MacDonald Spit, southern end of the Kenai Peninsula.
Sea star wasting disease (SSWD) observed near King Cove
Sea star wasting syndrome was first documented in Kachemak Bay in 2014, but it wasn’t until last summer that the mysterious infection began killing sea stars in large numbers.
Observations From Members 