Sperm Whales Found Dead In Germany, Stomachs FULL Of Plastic And Car Parts

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It is now becoming widely known that astonishing quantities of plastics are building up in our oceans daily. But who is really tackling this problem at the scale that on which it needs to be addressed? According to an alarming study published by the World Economic Forum in January 2016, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050. The same study revealed the massiveness of plastic disposed by humans that this material ends up being eaten by humans. People are now ingesting plastic, thanks to ocean pollution.

Marine pollution leads to plastic and other trash being ingested by sea animals. This disturbing fact was discovered when thirteen sperm whales tragically washed up near the German state of Schleswig-Holstein in 2016. Researchers conducted a necropsy of the whales and found out that four of the marine mammals had large amounts of plastic waste in their stomach. According to the Wadden Sea National Park, the trash found inside the animals included a 132 meter piece of fishing net, a plastic cover from a car engine, and the broken remains of bucket made of plastic.

Ursula Siebert, who is the head of the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover, clarified that the marine litter did not directly cause the stranding. Her team of scientists examined the sperm whales and attributed their death to the animals venturing into shallow seas and being caught by the tide going out.

However, scientists believe that the high levels of toxins from ocean pollution could have caused stress on the whales’ brain that may have caused disorientation. They also blamed changes in local weather due to special conditions in the North Atlantic which may have influenced warm water and prey distribution and storm activities.

Some suggest that the litter was mistaken by the whales as food, such as squid, which is their main diet. Others too linked the travesty to humanity’s shocking disregard for marine life, which resulted in an overabundance of plastic in the oceans. Schleswig-Holstein environmental minister Robert Habeck, criticized humans’ plastic-oriented society. He noted that sea animals suffer and starve with full stomachs to their inadvertent consumption of plastic and plastic waste.

The National Geographic reiterated that the plastic did not kill the young male sperm whales. Their demise was brought by heart failure after mistakenly swimming into the North Sea and not being able to support their own body weights in the shallow water. But the large quantity of plastic stuck in their stomachs highlights the problem we face today. Plastic is an environmental catastrophe.

Whale researcher Hal Whitehead described the plastic debris in the whales’ stomachs as a horrible indictment of humans. He couldn’t hide his disappointment in mankind, a species with a smaller brain than a whale, for such a travesty.

Mass extinction in the oceans is inevitable unless there are profound and prompt changes in human behavior. Mankind’s continued use of plastic will not bode well for the future of our oceans and the marine wildlife. Personal and political motivation should be mustered to rethink our packaging and zero-waste approach to consumer goods.

Bold moves are needed to transform our oceans into healthy habitats for whales, sharks, and other marine species.