The deaths of the snapper on Coromandel beaches are likely to remain a mystery unless anyone with more information comes forward.

An unknown quantity of snapper washed up on beaches at Little Bay and Waikawau Bay on Tuesday afternoon. Fisheries officers were informed about 5pm, and then learned the fish were seen floating at sea at least 12 hours earlier.

Snapper from the Coromandel.

The time delay means any laboratory analysis of the dead snapper is unlikely to confirm a cause of death, says Ministry of Fisheries field operations manager for the Bay of Plenty Waikato and Coromandel, Brendon Mikkelsen.

'What we are after is information basically from the at-sea phase of it,” says Brendon of the Tuesday, January 4 event.

'Anybody that saw fish further out either in the morning, or the night before, and any commercial or other operator in the area.

'We've had some information come in, but we are really lacking any real quality information in regards to anything at the time, because we were advised so late in the day when the fish were coming into the beach as opposed to anything earlier that morning.”

He's urging the public who see the unusual to use the Ministry of Fisheries 0800 POACHER, 0800 476 224 hot line to report it.

'If people call us immediately on the 0800 POACHER number then we can do something about it. They can use that number for any incident really.”

Brendon thinks any link between the Coromandel snapper deaths and starling deaths in the US as reported in other media, is 'remote or unlikely”.

The dead Coromandel fish were all snapper, which in itself suggests something, says Brendon. Theories floating about include that the fish are diseased, that they were abandoned by a commercial operator, or are the result of a split net, but Brendon has no information to support any theory.

Fisheries officers even have conflicting reports about the quantity.

'Depending on who we talk to, some are saying very few, others are saying hundreds.

'We just don't know,” says Brendon.

'We are happy to talk to anybody that can shed further light on it.”