Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Space Industry and Business News .




WHALES AHOY
Beached whale in Spain dies from ingesting plastic waste
by Staff Writers
Madrid (AFP) March 07, 2013


A 4.5 tonne sperm whale that washed ashore in southern Spain died from ingesting large amounts of plastic sheets used in greenhouses on farms in the region, a scientist said Thursday.

The whale, which came ashore last year on a beach in Andalusia, had over 17 kilogrammes (37 pounds) of garbage blocking its stomach, including some 30 square metres (36 square yards) of plastic canvas, said Renaud de Stephanis, a marine biologist at the Donana Biological Station, which is run by the Spanish National Research Council.

"We quickly realised that it had a real greenhouse inside its stomach. We did not expect it, but it did not surprise us," he told AFP in a telephone interview.

"There were a dozen metres of plastic rope, plastic sheeting used on the outside of greenhouses, and plastic sheeting used inside and even two flower pots."

Over 250 marine animals including turtles, dolphins and otters, have problems because of plastic garbage that finds its way into the ocean and which can cause them to choke, de Stephanis said.

Sperm whales, which can be found throughout the Mediterranean Sea, typically feed on squid.

The whale that washed ashore in March 2012 on a beach south of Granada, not far from Almeria, was "in a state of advanced emaciation", said de Stephanis.

"It was as if it had a rock inside its intestine, nothing could get through. There was so much plastic that it finally exploded," he added.

Very few large mammals, including only four sperm whales, have been proven to have died because they swallowed plastic waste, de Stephanis said.

The discovery is worrying because it shows that "the sea is full of rubbish" and that waste management systems for plastic, not only in Spain, are not always effective, he said.

"These big plastics crumble and the little pieces also go inside fish. And that is what we end up eating," said de Stephanis.

.


Related Links
Follow the Whaling Debate






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








WHALES AHOY
Japan will never stop whaling: minister
Tokyo (AFP) Feb 26, 2013
Japan's fisheries minister said Tuesday his country will never stop hunting whales, despite fierce criticism from other nations and violent clashes at sea with militant conservationists. "I don't think there will be any kind of an end for whaling by Japan," Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told AFP in an exclusive interview. Hayashi, who took the ministerial ... read more


WHALES AHOY
Atoms with Quantum-Memory

Big data: Searching in large amounts of data quickly and efficiently

Neutron scattering provides data on adsorption of ions in microporous materials

MEXSAT Bicentenario Satellite Completes On-orbit Testing

WHALES AHOY
Space race under way to create quantum satellite

Boeing Receives USAF Contract for Integrated C4ISR Targeting Solution

Air Operations Center Modernization Program PDR Completed

Advanced Communications Waveforms Ported To Navy Digital Modular Radios

WHALES AHOY
Vega launcher integration continues for its April mission

SpaceX's capsule arrives at ISS

Dragon Transporting Two ISS Experiments For AMES

SpaceX Optimistic Despite Dragon Capsule Mishap

WHALES AHOY
China targeting navigation system's global coverage by 2020

Russian GLONASS space satellite group again at full strength

Tracking trains with satellite precision

USAF Awards Lockheed Martin Contracts to Begin Work on Next Set of GPS III Satellites

WHALES AHOY
Canada unsure what will replace Hornets

Cathay Pacific orders 3 Boeing 747-8 cargo planes

Sikorsky, Boeing Propose X2 Technology Helicopter Design for US Army's JMR FVL

Indonesia, South Korea to build fighters

WHALES AHOY
Polymer capacitor dazzles flash manufacturer

Rutgers physicists test highly flexible organic semiconductors

Quantum computers turn mechanical

Boeing Acquires CPU Tech's Microprocessor Business

WHALES AHOY
Twin CU-Boulder instruments reveal a third radiation belt can wrap around Earth

Mysterious electron stash found hidden among Van Allen belts

Satellite SAR capabilities being enhanced

Third radiation belt discovered with UNH-led instrument suite

WHALES AHOY
Toxic gas leak in South Korea, 11 hospitalised

Japan warns about smog drifting from China

Electronic waste recycling on the increase

Stanford scientists help shed light on key component of China's pollution problem




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement