Starfish piling up on Gulf County beaches

Thousands of starfish littering the Gulf County shoreline likely are there by natural happenstance, wildlife officials say.

Residents in Port St. Joe and visitors to Cape San Blas have been reporting and taking video of the sea stars for weeks.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials say cold weather — the mercury dipped below 30 degrees last week — combined with storms and high tides has stranded the invertebrates along the sand.

It’s uncommon, but not unheard of for starfish to wash up en masse.

“What it is looking like is change in the natural environment,” said FWC Spokesman Frank McCloy.  “It’s the cold weather, the cold water. They congregate in masses (in the water) so when a storm or high tide comes it kind of washes them up on shore.”

Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com