A Southern right whale has died due to a ship strike in Saldanha Bay on Saturday, August 29.
The NSRI Mykonos duty crew were activated to assist the Marine Animal Stranding Network and Saldanha Bay Municipality (SBM) to tow the carcass from the Saldanha Bay Port iron ore jetty to a beach near to Dial Rock.
The Southern right whale’s carcass on Dial Rock beach.
The NSRI towed the whale carcass to a beach near to Dial Rock where efforts to remove the carcass from the beach are underway by SBM solid waste management.
An attempt to tow the whale out to sea later on Saturday was suspended and the carcass will be removed from the land side by SBM solid waste management. Samples of the whale carcass will be collected by the Department of Environment.
‘Sad ending for a beautiful Southern right #whale yesterday in #SaldanhaBay, #SouthAfrica,’ Seafari wrote on Twitter.
Sad ending for a beautiful Southern right #whale yesterday in #SaldanhaBay, #SouthAfrica. This youngster was sadly the victim of a propeller strike, according to initial info. Pictures by @MooiWeskus and @AndreT2304 pic.twitter.com/vogqZqw0hk
— Seafari (@SeafariApp) August 30, 2020
Ship strikes are a leading cause of whale deaths, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Many ship lanes cross the feeding and breeding grounds of whales along coastlines, especially during the months when several whale species migrate from Antarctic waters to South African shores from June to December.
Image credit: Twitter/Seafari
