The fish's stomach is full of plastic tape and a white plastic clip, which has a large chunk of glistening flesh lodged between its jaws. The replies are unanimous: they're oesophagus clips used at freezing works. An oesophagus clip (or weasand clip) is a plastic oval about the size of a small thumb. "They're a gruesome New Zealand invention," says Auckland University biotechnology researcher Dr Emily Frost of the oesophagus clips. On the other side of the North Island, oesophagus clips in their thousands are littering Taranaki's coastline.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 07, 2021 22:41 UTC