Context: The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has documented a nearly tenfold rise in whale strandings along India’s south-west coast over the past decade.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Species in news (Bryde’s whale, Blue whale); Whale strandings.
Whale Stranding or beaching is the phenomenon where whales or other mammals (E.g., dolphins), either dead or alive, often come onto the shore because they are old, sick, injured and/or disorientated.
Key Findings of the Study
- The annual proportion of whale strandings along the south-west coast of India increased nearly tenfold to around 3% per year during 2014-2023.
- Primary Hotspots: Kerala, Karnataka, and Goa emerged as the primary hotspots together accounting for the majority of reported whale strandings.
- Stranded species:
- Bryde’s Whale (IUCN: Least Concern) was identified as the most commonly stranded species
- Blue Whale (IUCN: Endangered) strandings were recorded only occasionally.
Causes behind rise in Whale Strandings :
- High vessel traffic, intense fishing activity, noise pollution, and shallow coastal shelves significantly contributed to the increased stranding risk.
- Elevated Chlorophyll-A levels during the South-West monsoon, indicating higher ocean productivity, were linked to whales moving closer to the coast to feed.
- Rising sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and climate change.
Way Forward
- Real-time alerts and marine megafauna conservation networks, training for fishers and officials and improvement of citizen science platforms for data collection.
- Expedited building robust marine mammal conservation infrastructure, especially in biodiversity hotspots like the southwest coast.