Mysterious Goo Near Remote Alaska Village Identified as Eggs

Handout photo of microscopic crustacean eggs which washed up on an Alaskan shore — Microscopic crustacean eggs which washed up on an Alaskan shore are shown in this undated handout photo from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to Reuters August 8, 2011. The eggs washed up onshore in the Alaskan village of Kivalina on the state's northwest coast. Reuters

The mysterious orange-colored goo that washed up on the shore of a remote Alaska village has been identified as millions of microscopic eggs filled with fatty droplets.

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the fat-filled eggs could be embryos produced by some kind of crustacean.

But the mystery still isn't quite solved because the exact species of the egg is unknown and scientist say they don't know if the eggs are toxic, and may never know what caused so many eggs to wash up on the shores Kivalina, an Inupiat Eskimo community located at the tip of a barrier reef on Alaska's northwest coast.

"We'll probably find some clues, but we'll likely never have a definitive answer," said Julie Speegle of the NOAA.

Although the goo has since disappeared, many of the 347 residents in the village are still worried about whether there will be any long-term effects.

Samples are being sent to a NOAA laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina, for further analysis and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation also sent samples on Monday to the Institute for Marine Science at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, according to The Associated Press.