Thousands of starfish have died after being washed ashore on Moreton Island in what appears to be an unusual natural phenomenon.
Sunrover Expeditions tour guide Rhett Ericsen-Miller made the discovery on Monday morning near the Tangalooma Wrecks.
Mr Ericsen-Miller's video of the stranding was posted on social media, quickly racking up thousands of views.
"As tragic as it was, it was absolutely beautiful to see on the beach," Mr Ericsen-Miller said.
Given the size of the stranding, attempts by the tour group members to throw surviving starfish back into the water proved to be impossible.
About once or twice a year, starfish tend to wash up between Cowan Cowan and Tangalooma. Mr Ericsen-Miller said he had seen this occur during the past three years, however Monday's example was by far the biggest.
A Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service spokeswoman said the mass strandings were often linked to strong winds and a change in water temperatures. She said there was currently high levels of Trichodesmium algae in the bay which may have altered oxygen levels.
"As far as we are aware it's a natural phenomenon, and at this stage we have no information to indicate otherwise," she said.
University of Queensland marine biologist Kathy Townsend, whose research centre is based on the island, said it appeared the animals were not infected by the dreaded starfish wasting syndrome.
"They seem superficially healthy, there's no obvious scars or wounds or the animals," Dr Townsend said.
"Starfish do have a tendency to get together when it is mating season to do mass spawning. It could have been a case that they were all together, that they were spawning and then conditions changed and they all got washed up on shore."
"If people have the opportunity to get them back into the water then that's great."
During November, staff from Maritime Safety Queensland removed parts of the nearby Tangalooma Wrecks because of asbestos concerns and due to injuries being sustained by divers and snorkelers.
However Dr Townsend said it appeared unlikely humans were to blame for the recent starfish stranding because other species did not wash up on the beach.
Australian Institute of Marine Science researcher Dr Sven Uthicke said he was not aware of any other locations in Queensland where large starfish strandings occurred.
Dr Uthicke also agreed that the animals in the video appeared disease free and likely met their fate because of an unfortunate change in the weather.
"I've seen sea stars in the North Sea and Baltic Sea wash ashore, but certainly not in such numbers," he said.