Alarm Bells: Why so Many Dead Whales Are Washing up on Our Shores

With whales washing up on shores across the world, we take a look at some of the possible reasons why.

A recent spate of whales washing up on our beaches may be a coincidence but climate change, sonar, fishing vehicles etc may be taking a toll. On Friday, a Bryde’s Whale was found dead on Juhu beach on Friday. Earlier this month, 80 whales washed ashore on Tuticorin beach, out of which 45 died.

While reports of stranded whales aren’t new (the historical record of such events is around 2300 years old!), they seem to be occurring at a greater frequency in recent years. We look at some possible reasons for such events:

1. Climate Change:

Our planet is in the throes of a massive period of drastic human-induced alterations of the global ecosystem. Warming oceans, melting sea-ice, dying reefs, changing patterns of marine food availability and alterations in ocean currents are disrupting the lives and habits of all creatures on the planet.

2. Sonar, Fishing Vessels and Ships:

Being hit by a vessel or entanglement in fishing nets can lead to whales being stranded. Sonar could be another cause – it’s been argued that the sound waves interfere with the whales’ navigation abilities.

3. Injuries and Disease:

Whales have evolved to stay alive in the challenging marine environment and an illness or injury could have a hugely negative impact on their ability to move and dive.

4. Pollution and Chemicals:

Pollution has affected ocean waters – chemicals and hazardous wastes are routinely dumped there with little consideration for their impact. While there is little direct evidence on the exact impact on whales, there’s enough to show that chemicals can play havoc with their brain functioning and lead to impaired capacities.

5. Hunger:

Search for food has been pointed to as one important reason why whales would throw caution to the wind and stray into shallow waters where there’s chances that they’ll be beached.

6. They’re Already Dead:

While dead whales are likely to be decomposed or scavenged at sea, on some occasions, they wash up on the shore. This was the case with the Bryde’s Whale found on Juhu beach on Friday. However, this is more common in the case of individual whales and does not quite explain cases of mass stranding.

Mysterious and beautiful, whales are among the most majestic creatures on our planet. While there are likely to be several natural factors contributing towards whales being stranded, it’s inarguable that humans have impacted marine health and sustainability drastically. We need to study these cases carefully and figure out why they’re happening so that we can mitigate any human-induced causes for such tragedies.

(Shalini Iyengar is a lawyer and Research Associate at the International University College, Turin)