Plastic found in stomach of beached whale

Fishing nets, plastic bags, hagfish traps, a light protector, and some fishing line. That’s what was found in the stomach of a large sperm whale that washed ashore in Hawaii.

We were really saddened to find this volume of material


The 56-foot sperm whale washed up on Hawaii’s shore on Jan. 27 and was examined by researchers from the University of Hawaii Health and Stranding Lab, who found fishing nets, plastic bags, hagfish traps, a light protector, and some fishing line. All of this plastic was found in the stomach of a beached whale. 

The false killer whale, a little-known cetacean


We were really surprised and saddened to find this volume of material. We don’t know if it was ingested overtime or if it was ingested sort of in one fatal swoop, but we do think it's likely that it contributed to the death of the whale”, says Dr. Kristi West, Health and Stranding Lab Director. Male sperm whales travel over thousands of miles, so it’s impossible to tell where exactly the materials came from.

The controversial tradition of dolphin hunting

avatar
Brut.