40 kilos of plastic found in dead whale’s stomach

A young Cuvier beaked whale was found dead in the Philippines after ingesting 40 kilograms of plastics.

The whale was found stranded in the shores of Sitio Asinan, Brgy. Caduanan, Mabini in Compostela Valley last March 16, Sunday.

American marine biologist and president of D’Bone Collector Museum, Darrel Blatchley, conducted the autopsy of the whale, along with Dr. Elaine Vera Belvis of BFAR-Fishery Management Regulatory and Enforcement Division.

Blatchley wrote in a Facebook post that the 15.4-foot whale died after ingesting several kilos of ocean plastic wastes. He said that was “the most plastic we have ever seen in a whale,” as its stomach contained 16 sacks, four bags that were similar to the one used in banana plantations, and multiple plastic shopping bags.

The result of the necropsy examination also showed that the juvenile whale’s stomach compartments were full of foreign materials, squid beaks and there was also the presence of parasites in its stomach and kidney.

According to a 2017 report by Ocean Conservancy, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines have been dumping more single-use plastic into different bodies of water (like the ocean and seas) than the rest of the other countries combined.

“It’s disgusting,” Blatchley wrote in his post. “Action must be taken by the government against those who continue to treat the waterways and ocean as dumpsters.”