RESIDENTS spotted thousands of fish swimming and leaping in the shallow water in Shenzhen Bay Park on Wednesday morning. A resident, surnamed Zhang, took pictures and videos to record the unusual scene, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

Among the more than 1,000 fish, a large black fish, estimated to be 1.2 meters in length, was the most eye-catching fish and caught the attention of most residents. Many people assumed it was the “leader” of the shoal of fish.

By around 9:20 a.m., when journalists of the Daily arrived at the spot near Exit C of Shenzhen Bay Park Metro Station, the number of fish had decreased to what can be seen in the video shot by Zhang. However, there were still a considerable number of various kinds of fish swimming in the shallow water.

Zhang later gave an interview to the newspaper and said that it was truly a rare case to see over thousands of fish gathering here. Zhang rides in the park every morning and he had never encountered such an incident before.

According to the city’s ocean monitor center, the phenomenon may be related to recent weather conditions and the fishing ban, which is implemented earlier than previous years. The water quality in Shenzhen Bay has remained good in recent years, the ocean monitor said. A total of 70 species of fish were found living in Shenzhen Bay area in a 2013 survey. (Zhang Qian)