LOWER LANCE COVE, Nfld. — Weary fishermen continued to unload thousands of tonnes of cod into crates Thursday following a massive, mysterious kill that some are calling an ecological disaster.

Over the past five days, fishermen in eastern Newfoundland have salvaged more than 300,000 kilograms of cod that has floated to the surface of Smith Sound since Saturday morning.

"What you've got here is an environmental disaster and an ecological disaster. Make no bones about it," said Gilbert Penney, a commercial fisherman, as he waited to unload the holds of his boat.

Although it's estimated just one per cent of the Smith Sound cod population was affected, the kill is devastating because this part of Trinity Bay is among the few places where the once-bountiful northern cod still thrive.

The area was the only one that showed signs of recovery since stocks collapsed in the early 1990s.

Penney got a call from another fisherman over the weekend telling him about the massive cod kill.

"They said they were out to haul their herring nets and picked up a thousand pounds of (cod) fish on the water," said Penney. "He said 'I bet I can pick up another 20,000 before noon.' "

Doubtful, Penney went down to the wharf in this small town about 200 kilometres northwest of St. John's.

"On the shoreline, right across from where we're standing here now, there was fish as far as you could see with the binoculars from the wharf," he said.

Soon, hundreds of boats were on the water trying to salvage what they could for processing at nearby fish plants.

Dozens of scientists from the federal Fisheries Department and Memorial University in St. John's were also on the water trying to determine what caused the deaths.

It appears the fish froze to death in water that is the coldest recorded in a decade.

Many fishermen blame seals for chasing the fish into cold waters, but scientists are skeptical.

The fish normally winter in the sound, where water temperatures have dropped to -1.7 C.

"Whatever's happened, it looks like it wasn't something that was initiated by the seals," said George Lilly, a scientist with the Fisheries Department.

The cod population in the sound was estimated to be around 20,000 tonnes. At least 300 tonnes have been scooped up and scientists have found more dead fish at the bottom, Lilly said.

"We don't even know if whatever's happening has come to an end," he said.

But there was some good news Thursday when a school of fish was found alive in the sound. There are also more cod alive in deeper, warmer water just outside the sound.

Fisheries officials have restricted the salvage to commercial fishermen.

Fishermen on the wharf described near-collisions with other boats early in the week as people scrambled to pick up the floating fish.

"It's madness. I guess at least a hundred boats," said Rick Verge, a fisherman from Old Bonaventure, Nfld., who hauled in over 500 kilograms in one day.

Like other fishermen, Verge said he's never seen anything like it.

"These many coming to the surface, there must be tonnes more dying besides that's not coming to the surface," Verge said. "That's bad news."

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency tested the fish to ensure they were safe for consumption.

"We don't have any reason, based on our laboratory work, to suspect a health risk from the consumption of this fish," Ken Malone, an inspection manager for the agency, said Thursday.

"We've advised (processing) plants that we don't have any concerns about the risk."

On the wharf, workers ran to keep up with the pace as fishermen filled barrels and crates.

"It's been really hectic here," said Neil Smith, who had worked 15 hours a day since the die-off was discovered.

By mid-week, the pace had slowed, but thousands of kilograms were still unloaded Wednesday in Lower Lance Cove.

"We've been on the go since seven o'clock this morning," Patricia Green, a department employee, said Wednesday. "The first boat that came in this morning was around 10,000 pounds."

The federal goverment is expected to announce quotas for the northern cod fishery by the end of the month.

Penney is hoping that the cod kill won't affect the quota for Smith Sound, but he also believes many more fish are dead under the water.

In more than 20 years on the sea, he said he's never seen anything like this.

"This was one of the last remnants of the northern cod fishery and it's taken an awful beating."