CEBU CITY — The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources on Monday disclosed that the appearance of tiny shrimps and megamouth sharks along Leyte and Negros Oriental shorelines has no connection with the 6.8 magnitude quake that struck portions of Mindanao last week.

BFAR-Central Visayas technical assistant Johann Tejada said the washing ashore of crustaceans was a sign that the biodiversity of the coastal water is clean thus complementing the marine life in an area.

Tejada made the comment following videos that went viral on social media showing residents gathering shrimps along the shoreline of Barangay San Vicente in Hindang, Leyte.

"One reason is the complex dynamics at sea. In general, quality seawater has an impact on marine life. Quality seawater also means food that can make the marine life in an area productive," Tejada said.

He also said the emergence of megamouth sharks found washed ashore at District 2 of Silago, Southern Leyte, and Barangay Domolog in Bindoy, Negros Oriental could not also be associated scientifically with the earthquake that struck Sarangani last week.

Another megamouth shark was washed ashore in Aurora.

Giant fish would usually wash ashore if their navigational sensory organs went dysfunctional and became disoriented while chasing their food such as small fish and shrimps, he said.

"Marine mammals are the most vulnerable to being washed ashore due to diseases from ingesting garbage at sea," Tejada said.