Mysterious white spots have been appearing on Newfoundland beaches for more than a month, prompting an investigation by Canadian authorities.
While beachgoers on this large land mass are accustomed to spotting debris from the Atlantic, they, along with Canadian government scientists, have been baffled by the sudden appearance of chunks of white material, often found covered in algae, sand and pebbles.
The stains, which began appearing at least Sept. 7, smelled like vegetable oil and looked “like someone had tried to bake bread and done a lousy job,” according to local resident Stan Tobin.
Another Newfoundlander, Philip Grace, said they looked like ‘touton’ dough, referring to a local version of fried biscuits.
The Mail and Globe reported that they were “strangely combustible, with a pitted slimy surface and firm, spongy flesh,” adding that they “vary in size from a toonie (two-dollar coin) to dinner plates.”
Countless amateur sleuths, aspiring scientists, and concerned citizens have put forward their own theories about the origin of the stains.
The stains, which began appearing on at least September 7, were described as smelling like vegetable oil and looking “like someone had tried to bake bread and done a lousy job.”
Samantha Bayard, spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change Canada, raised the possibility of criminal involvement in the slicks: “If law enforcement officers find evidence of a possible violation of federal environmental legislation, they will take appropriate enforcement action.” in accordance with applicable compliance and enforcement standards.” policy.’
Some said they were fungi or mold, others believed they were made from palm oil, paraffin wax or even ambergris, a rare and valuable substance produced by whales and used in the perfume industry.
Their guesses were as good as those of government scientists, who have been investigating since they first learned about them on September 7.
A scientist from Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans told the Globe and Mail: “We are fairly certain that the mystery substance that has been attracting media attention is not a sea sponge nor does it have any biological material.”
‘The dough or the sticky substance or whatever it is, we don’t think it’s a sponge because there have been people who set it on fire and it burns.
“We guess there must be some kind of oil there.”
Currently, the only thing scientists can confirm at the moment is that the droplets are not made from any type of petroleum hydrocarbon, petroleum lubricant, biofuel or biodiesel.
But more tests are in the works and could take up to a month to complete.
Nadine Wells, section chief of the marine ecological research group at DFO’s Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Center in St. John’s, said, “We’re trying to do everything we can to do our job and get the answer.” Until then it is difficult for us to say exactly what it is.
“It’s really mysterious, something we’ve never seen before and we have no idea what it is.”