Amazed Pwllheli onlookers bag their dinner as 'millions' of small fish jump onto north Wales beach

Beachgoers in Gwynedd were astonished to see the sight of "millions" of tiny fish jumping onto the beach.

The fish escaped from the sea onto Pwllheli Beach to try to evade the hungry mackerel chasing them.

There were so many fish leaping for their lives the shallows were reportedly turned silvery white.

Amazed onlookers wasted no time in bagging themselves a cheap meal by collecting the still-live fish in bags to take home for tea.

While some went for the beached whitebait, others were said to have ventured into the water and even caught mackerel with their "bare hands."

Ambra Burls, 69, who lives nearby and was walking along the beach at the time, said: “I’m not talking thousands of fish, I’m talking millions."

She added: “The whole beach was strewn with fish, all the way up towards the Cob back into town."

Ms Burls said: “I’ve been here 11 years and, living near the beach, I walk there regularly. But I’d never seen anything like this before. Youngsters were picking them up from the shoreline and mothers were putting them in bags - a couple of them told me they were taking them home to eat.

“In the shallows, people were standing in the shoals of fish... Some were scooping them out and putting them in bags. I was amazed by the sheer numbers of whitebait.“Some people were even catching mackerel with their bare hands."

By the time the tide went out, fish were washed up right along the beach.

However strange the sight is, mass whitebait strandings are not that uncommon, with similar scenes occurring on Benar Beach, Gwynedd, in 2020.

It is most common to see large amounts of fish washed up on beaches between July and September, when waters are warmer and there is more food.

Larger predators like mackerel and seals will chase smaller fish all the way to the shoreline in calmer seas.

Natural Resources Wales said shoals of fish often get beached as they attempt to escape pray.

The environmental regulator said: “Although it may appear worrying, it is only nature at work."

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