Photos of the substance began to appear in a group of beachgoers online, prompting speculation that it was fungus or mold, palm oil, paraffin or even ambergris, a rare and precious substance produced by whales and used in the perfume industry.
One poster suggested that it was similar to the dough used to make “toutons,” a regional dough dish often fried in pork fat.
Spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change Canada told the Globe and Mail, external that the substance is not a petroleum hydrocarbon, lubricant, biofuel or biodiesel.
While Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s marine ecologist told the paper it is not a sea sponge and does not contain biological material.
Drops were seen along the shores of Placentia Bay, on the southeast coast of Newfoundland.
Mr. Tobin, a local environmentalist, lives in Ship Cove, a tiny bayside village, and regularly walks the beaches.
