The young killer whale was already dead when it washed ashore on Papa Westray on the Scottish Orkney Islands at the beginning of the week. Members of the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) and Orkney Marine Mammal Research Initiative (OMMRI) were quick to secure and evaluate the situation. Based on photo-ID data, the killer whale could be identified as #151, born in 2015/2016 and part of pod 27.
The comprehensive necropsy revealed that the animal likely died from entanglement. While the bodily conditions were good and it had fed recently, rope marks around the tailstock and water aspirations in the lungs strongly suggest that the animal drowned while entangled before it was washed up. Whether active fishing gear or discarded material was the culprit could not be identified. Further toxicologic samples will reveal whether the animal might have suffered from any additional contaminant burdens.
SMASS stresses that, while entanglement is a major problem for marine wildlife, it is not done deliberately and “many fishers out there are proactively engaging with efforts to mitigate the impact of fishing on our marine ecosystem.”
The full report by SMASS can be found here: (13) Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme - Posts | Facebook