The 30 whale strandings since May of this year are about three times the average for the area, the western Gulf of Alaska.
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This event is so uncanny that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration already declared that this occurrence is an Unusual Mortality Event which is defined by the Marine Mammal Protection Act as animals that are stranded in an unexpected manner with a significant die-off of any marine mammal population that demands immediate response and action. The scientists reported that they still did not know whether the bird deaths were associated to the whales dead in Alaska.
NOAA Fisheries declared the deaths an “unusual mortality event“, triggering a new-level investigation that brings with it access to additional resources. “They appear to have all died around the same time”.
The NOAA said the 30 washed up whales included 11 fin whales, 14 humpback whales, one gray whale, and four “unidentified cetaceans”. Teri Rowles, NOAA Fisheries’ marine mammal health and stranding response coordinator, told reporters during a teleconference Thursday that large-scale whale deaths are among the toughest to investigate, partly because the carcasses often are floating, rarely beached and hard to access for examination.
The problem might not be relegated to the coast of Alaska, either. “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”.
Numerous carcasses discovered during this unusual mortality event have been too decomposed or located in inaccessible areas too unsafe for human investigators to traverse.
An NOAA spokesman believes the deaths may have been caused by a harmful algal bloom that’s been spreading up the west coast, but the deaths are still under investigation.
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Whale carcasses washed up on shores also have their own dangers. When whales feed at great depths of the ocean and return to surface to breathe, it spreads nutrients and microorganisms through different marine zones, which results to feeding bonanzas for other creatures. He also urges the public to help in the investigation by informing authorities if they see distressed animals or dead whales.
