"Mass minnow/mummychug death?"?

Question

Hello-

Yesterday around 7 or 8 o'clock in the evening I went to the beach (Maine) and was walking along when all along the immediate shore I discovered tiny silver minnows dead and dying! Many were still flipping around because they had just been washed up. There had been no recent storms-- it had showered just a little bit during the day. I've never seen anything like that "minnow genocide" as my friends and I called it on that beach or anywhere else! Then when we walked along to the river side of the beach (it was a barrier beach) hundreds of mackeral were literally feasting upon the tiny fish. I'd never seen anything like it- they were literally jumping onto shore. Could this have been caused by some chemical, or natural phenomenon, or is it just a completely natural occurence of the ocean tides? I've lived by the ocean my entire life and never seen something so beautiful yet so sad at the same time! Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

I have seen Lake trout school/coral herring and lake shiners to the surface of fresh water lakes and then feast on then maybe the Mackerel were doing/did the same thing

Answer 2

Time to get your boat and go mackerel-fishing. It sounds as if the spearing and mummichog were being chased by the mackerel and driven ashore.