A sperm whale found dead in southern Spain was killed after ingesting 64 pounds of mostly plastic garbage, a necropsy of the marine mammal recently revealed.
The 6-ton, 33-foot-long juvenile male beached near a lighthouse in Cabo de Palos in the region of Murcia in February.
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzUzNDM2OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MjUzMjc1MX0.lND8RFbgYZmqQ8G2P5xslvkvjI6vsseJpBYZOJu-_jM/img.jpg?width=980" id="91116" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="72b96d70fbd308ed54276befa034bafa" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Región de Murcia</small>
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An examination of its digestive tract uncovered items such as
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastic-bags">plastic bags</a>, raffia sacks, ropes, pieces of nets and even a plastic jerry can, authorities <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/04/06/sperm-whale-killed-plastic-pollution-washes-spanish-coast/" target="_blank">said</a> Friday.
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Experts at Murcia's El Valle Wildlife Recovery Center, which carried out the necropsy, said the whale was unable to expel or digest the trash, causing it to die from peritonitis, or an infection of the abdomen.
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</p><div id="96c73" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="AA81YC1576661665"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="981519588381941760" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#MedioAmbiente lanza una #campaña para concienciar sobre el peligro de las #basurasmarinas para la #Fauna Ejemplo:… https://t.co/Imk9ZArFBb</div> — EspaciosNaturalesMur (@EspaciosNaturalesMur)<a href="https://twitter.com/EspNaturalesMur/statuses/981519588381941760">1522847480.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Sperm whales, which can measure up to 67 feet long, are listed as "vulnerable" to extinction.
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<span></span>This grisly death has prompted the government of Murcia to launch a <a href="http://www.carm.es/web/pagina?IDCONTENIDO=96929&IDTIPO=10&RASTRO=c%24m122,70" target="_blank">new campaign</a> to combat ocean plastics.
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According to Spain's English publication,
<a href="https://www.thelocal.es/20180409/clean-seas-campaign-launched-on-spanish-coast-after-sperm-whale-beached-full-of-plastic" target="_blank">The Local</a>, the program encourages Murcia residents to responsibly dispose of their garbage and to volunteer for beach clean-ups along the coast. It also involves new research programs to help monitor the extent of plastic waste off the coast and its effect on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life">marine life</a>.
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"The presence of plastics in seas and oceans is one of the biggest threats to the conservation of wildlife in the world," Consuelo Rosauro, Murcia's regional government's environment minister, said of the initiative.
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"Many animals get trapped in the rubbish or ingest great quantities of plastics, which end up causing their death," she added.
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"The Murcia region is no stranger to this problem that we must tackle by way of clean-up actions and, above all, awareness of citizens."
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About
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/8-million-metric-tons-of-plastic-dumped-into-worlds-oceans-each-year-1882012563.html" target="_blank">8 million metric tons</a> of plastic enter our oceans each year—a major <a href="http://ecowatch.com/2014/06/23/plastic-waste-13-billion-marine-ecosystems/" target="_blank">threat to marine life and marine ecosystems</a>. Last month, the UK government released a startling <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future-of-the-sea--2" target="_blank">report</a> warning that plastic pollution in the world's seas is <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oceans-plastic-pollution-2550762861.html" target="_blank">projected to increase three-fold</a> within seven years unless action is taken.
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<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/taiwan-plastics-ban-2535001646.html">The good news</a> is many local and national governments are waking up to the scourge of ocean plastics and introducing legislation to stem its flow.
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For instance, fees on single-use plastic bags have led to a
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/apr/05/drop-in-plastic-bags-littering-british-seas-linked-to-introduction-of-5p-charge" target="_blank">30 percent drop</a> of plastic bags in the seafloor around Norway, Germany, northern France and Ireland, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.245" target="_blank">a 25-year study</a> from the UK government recently revealed. <span></span>
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</p><div id="fd022" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="716LC31576661665"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="982337089537806336" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Plastic Bag Bans Actually Work, Study of European Waters Shows https://t.co/wixMURiRdz #plasticpollution… https://t.co/8ItJs0dT4X</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/982337089537806336">1523042387.0</a></blockquote></div>
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