<img class="styles__noscript__2rw2y" src="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/IGSCStarfishPermission.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0" srcset="https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/IGSCStarfishPermission.jpg?v=at&w=485&h=273&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 400w, https://dsx.weather.com//util/image/w/IGSCStarfishPermission.jpg?v=ap&w=980&h=551&api=7db9fe61-7414-47b5-9871-e17d87b8b6a0 800w" > SCStarfish Photo taken on Fripp Island on Christmas Day shows several starfish washed along the beach. (Instagram/Chris Hahn) (Instagram/Chris Hahn)

A head-scratcher along a popular South Carolina beach, where thousands of starfish have washed ashore since last week.

According to the Island Packet of Hilton Head, a newspaper in South Carolina, beachgoers started noticing an unusually large amount of dead starfish along Fripp Island on Christmas Day. Some local reports say as many as 100,000 sea stars have ended up on the beach.

Christmas Eve brought somewhat rough conditions along the coast. According to weather.com senior meteorologist Nick Wiltgen, wind gusts hit 27 mph in Hilton Head, and some experts are blaming those rough conditions for the mass die off.

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"These guys are just sitting on the bottom, so if you've got a strong wave action, they can't fight the current,” Al Segars with the state Department of Natural Resources said.

Although most experts are pointing to weather, fishing could be another explanation, The Associated Press reports. George Sedberry with the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries says the sea stars may have been unintentionally caught and discarded by shrimp trawlers.

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