The sardine apocalypse: Mystery of 200-ton shoal of dead fish that washed up at port, turned the sea red and created a HUGE stink Mystery: The sardine beach in Japan was turned blood red after nearly 200 tons of fish turned up There are now so many dead fish that locals in the town in Isumi City, Chiba Prefecture, are having to truck the rotting remains to landfills. And yet still more dead sardines keep washing up on shore. Reports suggested that locals are not only finding the sight disturbing, but the huge amount of dead fish has created a smell that's becoming unbearable. MORE... Race to reach British woman adventurer on solo round the world rowing boat is adrift 500 miles from land after being caught in tropical storm Who's turn to get a fresh bucket of water? Cleaners tackle the world's tallest skyscraper, which stands 206 stories high and has 24,438 windows (that's 120,000 square metres of glass) Japan's RocketNews24 reported: 'When we inquired with a local inn, we were told that the port was scheduled to be closed from June 1 to 5, but given the emergency, local fishermen are currently out in full force trying to resolve the situation.