A leak in a molasses pipeline discovered on Sunday has resulted in a sticky environmental disaster in the Honolulu Harbor that is killing thousands of fish and potentially attracting sharks. Local officials predict that the molasses could also "cause an unusual growth in marine algae ... an increase in harmful bacteria … and other environmental impacts."

The spilled molasses, equal to about a third of an Olympic swimming pool, was supposed to be loaded onto a ship operated by transport company Matson Navigation bound for the US West Coast. It is unclear if anyone will be held responsible for the accident.

Response agencies have little recourse but to wait for rain and tides to flush the molasses out of the Ke’ehi Lagoon and into the sea, where it will be diluted and broken down. Unfortunately, that's likely to take at least a week, an official from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told Discovery News today.