The shores of Dolphin Beach and Long Beach near Walvis Bay were a hub of activity on Friday morning as hundreds of locals were seen gathering dead fish scattered across the sand.

The presence of fish on the beaches is believed to have been caused by a sulphur eruption in the ocean.

The community quickly filled bags and buckets with the small fish that washed up.

"It's a new year with new blessings," said one excited person.

Not only fish, but also sharks, eels, crabs and crayfish were washed out.

Efforts to reach the fisheries ministry, the Fisheries Observer Agency and the Namibia Dolphin Project for comments were fruitless.

In the past, the fisheries ministry would issue a press release about the occurrence, explaining that it could be an algae bloom that depletes the water of oxygen, causing the creatures to flee - if not deeper into the sea, then onto the shore.

The ministry would also warn the public to avoid consuming the washed-up marine life due to possible toxins as a result of the bloom. Many people, however, have argued that the "free food from the sea" did not cause them harm in the past.