LONDON: Marine experts are warning the public about the dangers of water pollution after it was revealed that a single piece of improperly disposed of plastic may have contributed to the death of an endangered Sei whale. Biologists from the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center Stranding Response Team received a notification back in August regarding the sighting and dispatched their team, which followed the whale for several days in an attempt to protect it from a fatal collision with a ship navigating the busy, industrial tributary.
The seemingly disoriented whale was found dead a few days later. After a necropsy was performed on the young whale’s carcass, a shard of black plastic was discovered. The sharp plastic had lacerated its stomach, which had prevented the animal from feeding. It was also determined that the whale had a fractured vertebrae as a result of having been struck by a ship. Barco described the whale’s demise as a “very long and painful decline.”
The plastic shard behind the whale’s death was identified as a broken piece of a DVD case. National Geographic reported that the marine mammal had most likely swallowed the debris while feeding from the surface. The ingestion of plastic by marine animals is a widespread problem, particularly for turtles and seabirds who easily confuse the plastic debris for food. Once swallowed, the indigestible plastic can obstruct the stomach or intestine and lead to starvation and death. As the amount of trash in the sea increases, so do the risks to the marine life inhabiting it.
The sei whale’s death could have been prevented were the plastic disposed of properly, a point which Barco iterated when she said that “it was a preventable death.”
Scientists are still trying to determine the impact marine debris has on cetaceans. A study last year found that 56 percent of cetacean species had been documented having ingested marine debris. The rates of ingestion in the study were as high as 31 percent in some populations of whales, dolphins, and porpoises.
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