Excited locals collected thousands of sardinella fish that washed up on the beach.

Footage shows frantic residents and tourists from a nearby resort gathering on the shore with plastic bags and containers in Sarangani, the Philippines, on January 7.

Some of them put their fish into tents as their ice boxes were already full.

Resident Jinkymer Gica Casama said: 'It was the first time that it happened to our place. Everyone took home large boxes, and more of them were still left by the shore in the morning.'

Cirilo Aquadera Lagnason Jr of the Department of Environment in the province said the event did not necessarily indicate underwater seismic activities but it could be due to sudden change in temperatures and wave directions.