· · ·

Mysterious dolphin and whale strandings reach record high in Ireland

Ireland is facing a mysterious spate of dolphin and whale strandings as the numbers reach record high again. The number of strandings during the winter period in the country has increased significantly since 2011.

In 2019, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) received 70 reports of animals washing up on the Irish coast during the winter months, which was unprecedented.

However, in January and February 2021, there have already been 93 records of stranded cetaceans, comprising 8 different species. This represents the highest number ever recorded in that time period. Four of the animals were refloated after efforts from volunteers, but 89 died.

The strandings are isolated mainly among the west and southwest coasts.

The eight species recorded to date include common, bottlenose, striped and Risso’s dolphin, harbor porpoise, long-finned pilot whale, minke whale and one rare record of a humpback whale.

Common dolphins are the most usual species found, making up more than two-thirds of the carcasses this year alone.

DOLPHIN DEATHS IN IRELAND ESCALATE

Six dolphin deaths recorded on the Irish Whale & Dolphin Group strandings page in three days including a bottlenose dolphin and five common dolphins. Read more here https://t.co/h5yrV76eo0 #EndBycatch #GoodbyeBycatch pic.twitter.com/W64bP960kr

— Blue Planet Society (@Seasaver) February 25, 2021

In some cases, people who discover dolphin carcasses believe that those were the remains of Fungie, a bottlenose dolphin that lived in very close contact with humans in Dingle, on the southwest coast of Ireland.

One in 10 had obvious signs of being caught in nets, three had their tails cut off, three suffered broken jaws, and one was caught in a net.

According to IWDG, the number of strandings during the winter period has increased significantly since 2011. These strandings have been dominated by common dolphins. 

“Although historically the IWDG have identified January to March as a peak stranding period for common dolphins, 2021 figures are already proving to be quite high compared to the same period in previous years,” said IWDG Strandings Officer Stephanie Levesque.

Winter Peak in Common Dolphin Strandings – the highest yet recorded by the IWDG. Strandings Officer Stephanie Levesque reports on strandings during the first two months of 2021, and puts these numbers into some historical context. Read the full story at https://t.co/fqzka0a8ga pic.twitter.com/rK4kF60fhE

— Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (@IWDGnews) March 6, 2021

There are most likely several factors affecting this increase in reported strandings, and although we are not sure exactly what is causing it, a number of factors must be taken into account, Levesque said.

“As the entire country found itself in lockdown, and was spending significantly more time walking the local shores during the peak stranding period, there was bound to be more reporting taking place,” she said. 

This is suggested by animals being found in fresher condition compared to previous years, possibly because they were being found sooner than they would have been in ‘normal’ times.

Of all cetaceans reported, 70% were classed as ‘fresh’ or ‘very fresh,’ compared to 39% this time last year.

In addition, the IWDG had a high social media reach in recent months and perhaps more people are inclined to report these strandings.

There is also ‘increasing evidence of a broad-scale movement of common dolphins from deep offshore waters into shelf edge waters within the NE Atlantic and IWDG Sightings Officer Pádraig Whooley has noted more common dolphin sightings reported off the coast of Ireland this winter, and where you have more dolphins, it likely leads to more strandings.’

Share:

Commenting rules and guidelines

We value the thoughts and opinions of our readers and welcome healthy discussions on our website. In order to maintain a respectful and positive community, we ask that all commenters follow these rules:

  • Treat others with kindness and respect.
  • Stay on topic and contribute to the conversation in a meaningful way.
  • Do not use abusive or hateful language.
  • Do not spam or promote unrelated products or services.
  • Do not post any personal information or content that is illegal, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these rules. By commenting on our website, you agree to abide by these guidelines. Thank you for helping to create a positive and welcoming environment for all.

11 Comments

  1. See:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonar#Effect_of_sonar_on_marine_life

    “Research has shown that use of active sonar can lead to mass strandings of marine mammals. Beaked whales, the most common casualty of the strandings, have been shown to be highly sensitive to mid-frequency active sonar. Other marine mammals such as the blue whale also flee away from the source of the sonar, while naval activity was suggested to be the most probable cause of a mass stranding of dolphins.”
    etc, etc.

  2. SpaceX launched its first batch of 60 Starlink satellites on May 23,2019.

    Meanwhile,Vodafone Ireland was the first company to launch a commercial 5G service in the country, beginning the roll-out of its next-generation network in August 2019.

    Coinciding with unprecedented event of 70 reports of animals washing up on the Irish coast,in 2019.

  3. In mass strandings, the whale pod follows a distressed or sick alpha male into shallow water and onto the shore; the male’s distress calls ensure the rest of them stay in close proximity thereby getting stranded themselves. If, however, the alpha male dies (or is killed) the pod will disperse back out to sea. Every effort should be made to locate the alpha male in such a situation and kill it, thereby saving the rest.

  4. What motivates dolphins? Fish.
    What is happening to the fish on the west coast of Ireland since Brexit? They are being hoovered up by EU supertrawlers.

  5. I believe there is clear connection between all biological creatures and magnetism, after all according to my understanding the building blocks of matter is nothing more than a pair of magnetic charges. Thus, the increase of magnetic radiation in our atmosphere can have many effects on the human life. On the other hand, the rapid changes of Earth’s magnetic field induce serious impacts on the life of most animals that live on land and in the seas. However, some animals are more sensitive to the changes of Earth’s magnetic field than other animals, and definitely, whales and dolphins among those sea creatures that are so sensitive to Earth’s magnetic fields. Whales and dolphins are able to navigate virtually empty stretches of water, by using Earth’s magnetic field. But, during the rapid changes of Earth’s magnetic field, the wandering and the wobbling of the field would cause these animals at certain locations, unable to reach their destinations and as a result, they become depressed and commit suicide

    1. I agree, well, I don’t know about the suicide part, I don’t think that it part of an animals psyche, but definitely about this being caused by shifting/waning magnetic field.

      We have seen this all over the world in recent months, mass stranding.

      You can tell as well by the extent of the rubbish explanations they come up with, confused navigation was often as accepted cause for this kind of behavior in past, but this time not a single mention of that, instead its because of “lockdown”. Really?!? What a crock of sh*t. The more desperate their cover story the more we can be sure there is something deeper to it.

    2. I highly suspect you are correct about that. 5G is the deadliest of energies and they locked us down to put the satellites all around OUR planet. That energy is a bioweapon and will kill everything on this planet — FOOLS did this Insane fools.

    3. Your right, in addition to the the reversed magnetization there is desalination if the sea water. This causes the oceans natural currents to weaken and disappear over time. These pods are lost, trying to follow ocean streams that they have used for thousands of year’s but the streams are too weak to follow or no longer even there. One major example if this is the North Atlantic stream. Apparently It’s practically gone now.

Leave a Reply to Johnnie Naughton Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *