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One Planet: The Mystery Of The Marine Strandings

One Planet: The Mystery of the Marine Strandings

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

06/08/2009

The Mystery of the Marine Strandings

BBC World Service - One Planet, The Mystery of the Marine Strandings

Were naval manoeuvres to blame for a large mass stranding of dolphins? Sue Broom reports.

Did naval manoeuvres cause the largest ever UK dolphin stranding? Scientists from the Institute of Zoology carried out autopsies on all the dolphins. Sue Broom hears what they found.

Dave Jarvis of British Divers Marine Life Rescue received a phone call early on the morning of the 9th of June 2008. The Coast Guard had received a report of a dolphin stranding near St Mawes in Cornwall, South West England. As he made his way to save the animal, he heard of more and more dolphins sighted in and around Falmouth Harbour.  By the end of the day Dave and his team had saved about 70 dolphins but 26 had died.

Scientists from the Institute of Zoology (as part of the UK Cetacean Stranding Programme) were on site by the end of the day and over the last year have carried out autopsies on all 26 animals. Their report was recently released.   

At the time of the stranding there was a large international naval exercise going on in the bay, leading many local people to become convinced that sonar could have been implicated in the deaths of the dolphins.  
But does the science support the rumours? 

Sue Broom investigates what could have caused such an unusual and tragic event.

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