Since early September, a mysterious gelatinous substance has been appearing on the beaches of the Canadian province of Newfoundland, confusing locals and researchers alike. The strange white ‘blobs’ washing up along the shores of Placentia Bay have already prompted an investigation by Canadian authorities.
Philip Grace was one of the first to share a mysterious photo on the Beachcombers of Newfoundland and Labrador Facebook page in September.
It showed a lumpy, gelatinous slime spread across the pebbly beach of Ship Harbour, a coastal community in southern Newfoundland. “Does anyone know what these strange blobs are?” he asked curiously. “They remind me of Touton dough and are found all over the beach.” To explain: Toutons are fried dough flatbreads and a popular traditional breakfast dish in Newfoundland.
Scent reminiscent of vegetable oil
Other residents of the region have also found such disgusting-looking lumps of slime, describing them as doughy and with a subtle odor reminiscent of vegetable oil.
Stan Tobin, an environmentalist from Ship Cove, told the BBC that the substance looked as if someone had tried to bake bread “and done it poorly”. He discovered “hundreds and hundreds of clumps – large and small,” Tobin reported.
Photos of the “blobs,” as they were called, and posted on social media led to all kinds of speculation, including that they could be mold, fungus, palm oil or even ambergris — a rare substance from the digestive tract of whales. found in the perfume industry and would smell fresh but miserable and is therefore probably ruled out.
“Of course there is no place here”
Despite extensive theories, the origin of the substance remains unclear. However, Canadian authorities are trying to shed light on the matter. According to a spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change Canada, this does not include petroleum hydrocarbons, petroleum lubricants, biofuels or biodiesel. A marine ecologist from the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans also ruled out the possibility that it was biological material or sea sponges.
Although the Canadian Coast Guard has investigated previous leads, the exact origin of the strange substance remains unclear. “Something or someone knows where it came from,” Tobin suspects, according to the BBC, “and it’s pretty certain that it doesn’t belong here.”
Authorities continue their investigation as area residents continue to search for answers. The incident raises questions about possible environmental influences, but until there is clarity, the blob phenomenon will remain a mystery on the coast of Newfoundland.
Source: Krone
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