Watch your step, hundreds of red sea urchins wash up on Patong Beach

Hundreds of red sea urchins washed up on Phuket’s Patong Beach yesterday, prompting marine life experts to investigate and lifeguards to warn beachgoers to watch out their steps to avoid the sharp spines.

Marine experts say the sea urchins are the same species that washed up on Patong beach earlier this month. On March 2, hundreds of the red sea urchins, also known as the scientific name Astropyga radiata, were found on Patong Beach. It was a bizarre event for locals. One lifeguard said they’d never seen anything like it.

This time, it’s estimated that more than 1,000 sea urchins washed up, many in front of the Patong Merlin Hotel. After taking some testing samples of the ocean water and examining some of the sea urchins, officers from the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources concluded that the urchins came close to shore to graze on algae. They say strong waves from the spring tide washed the urchins up to the shore.

SOURCE: Phuket News