Skip to footer

Aquatic mystery: Why did 30 whales die in the Gulf of Alaska?

A threefold increase in whale strandings in the western Gulf of Alaska has prompted a government investigation.

|
Bree Witteveen/University of Alaska Fairbanks/AP
One of 11 fin whales found stranded since May 2015. Photo taken on Kodiak Island, Alaska, and provided by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Gulf Apex Predator Prey project, June 8, 2015.

The mysterious deaths of 30 large whales in the western Gulf of Alaska is being declared an "unusual mortality event" by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, the agency said Thursday.

Since May 2015, 11 fin whales, 14 humpback whales, one gray whale, and four unidentified marine mammals have been stranded around the islands of the western Gulf of Alaska and the southern shoreline of the Alaska Peninsula. To date, this brings the number of whale strandings for this region to almost three times the historical average, according to a statement from NOAA.

The “unusual mortality event” designation will allow NOAA to work in tandem with federal, state, and tribal partners to conduct an investigation and come up with a response plan. A UME is defined by the government agency as a casualty event that is significant to the population (whales, in this case), is unexpected, and demands urgent action. The current priority for the agency is to determine the causes of death for the 30 whales found beached along the Alaskan coast since May.

"NOAA Fisheries scientists and partners are very concerned about the large number of whales stranding in the western Gulf of Alaska in recent months," said Dr. Teri Rowles, NOAA Fisheries' marine mammal health and stranding response coordinator in a statement. "While we do not yet know the cause of these strandings, our investigations will give us important information on the health of whales and the ecosystems where they live. Members of the public can greatly assist the investigation by immediately reporting any sightings of dead whales or distressed live animals they discover."

Only one whale of the 30 reported has been sampled, and scientists have been unable to determine a cause of death.

Since 1991, when the "UME" was adopted as part of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, 61 such cases have been declared, and 29 have been solved. Understanding and investigating marine mammal UMEs is important because they can serve as indicators of ocean health, and provide insight into larger environmental trends which have implications for human health and welfare, according to NOAA. The agency’s mission is to track and predict changes in the Earth's environment, “from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun”.

Members of the public are urged by NOAA to assist in the investigation by immediately contacting the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network hotline at 877-9-AKR-PRD (877-925-7773) if they see a stranded or dead marine mammal.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Aquatic mystery: Why did 30 whales die in the Gulf of Alaska?
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0823/Aquatic-mystery-Why-did-30-whales-die-in-the-Gulf-of-Alaska
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe