Is it pickled fat? Pierogi? Newfoundland 'blobster' expert eyeing weird beach goo

An image of strange white glob appearing on the province's beaches in Newfoundland is shown in this handout photo provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada. (The Canadian Press / HO-Environment and Climate Change Canada)

A Newfoundland scientist known for identifying a gelatinous, rancid mass that washed up on the island's shores decades ago is hoping to get his hands on a slice of the strange white globs appearing on the province's beaches.

Steven Carr, a biology professor at Memorial University in St. John's, N.L., says the mysterious blobs may be fat or oil that has somehow been preserved by the North Atlantic's icy brine — a process he calls "adventitious pickling."

Philip Grace first shared a picture of the slimy masses last month in a Facebook group of local beachcombers, asking if anyone knew what they were.

Grace wrote that he had found them on the beach along Placentia Bay and some were as big as dinner plates.

Environment and Climate Change Canada says neither the "mystery substance" nor its source has been identified yet, but preliminary tests suggest it may be "plant-based."

Carr was able to use DNA to determine that a 5.6-metre-long stinking mound of goo — nicknamed the "blobster" by local residents — found on a Newfoundland beach in 2001 was a badly decomposed sperm whale, but he doesn't believe the current blobs are animal matter.

He says he is writing to federal officials to request a sample.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.