"Thousands of dead fish washed ashore in Taiwan"

Thousands of dead fish have been washed ashore along Taiwanese beaches, with local officials blaming the deaths on cold sea temperatures.

Roughly 45 tonnes of fish - some wild and some farmed - have been found dead on the Penghu archipelago over the past week, Reuters reported.

Local media have claimed that ten times as many dead fish were still in the waters off the coast of the islands, with environmental official Hsu Ching-fang telling the news agency that unseasonably cold temperatures led to the loss of life.

"Every beach in Penghu has been hit with fish in varying amounts," he commented. "This is something we haven't seen before."

The deaths come at the same time as the United Nations Environment Programme has published a new report highlighting the negative effect that changes in sea temperatures could have on global fish populations.

"The worst concentration of cumulative impacts of climate change with existing pressures of over-harvest, bottom trawling, invasive species infestations, coastal development and pollution appear to be concentrated in 10-15 per cent of the oceans," the report warned.