15 December 2011

More than 3400 whales, dolphins and porpoises have stranded on UK beaches over the past six years, reveals a new report published today.

The report by the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) details the investigation of whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans), marine turtles and basking sharks found stranded around the UK coast between 2005 and 2010.

The CSIP has investigated some of the UK's most high-profile strandings during this time, from the northern bottlenose whale that swam up the Thames in 2006, to the mass stranding of 26 common dolphins in Cornwall in 2008.

The collaborative CSIP, coordinated by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and funded by Defra, Scottish Government and Welsh Government, recorded a decline in the number of reported strandings of harbour porpoises and common dolphins on UK shores, but saw a small increase in strandings of some species like the humpback whale.

CSIP scientists also conducted over 750 post-mortem examinations on stranded animals during the six year period. They discovered that infectious disease, starvation, entanglement in fishing gear (bycatch) and bottlenose dolphin attacks on porpoises were amongst the most common causes of death. Cases of bycatch were still common, but occurred in lower numbers than during the first half of the decade.

Defra and the Devolved Administrations have recently agreed to additional funding for a further three years, allowing the CSIP to continue their investigation of UK strandings- but they can only do so with help from the general public.

"Without the help of the UK public over the last six years, we would not have been able to investigate strandings effectively. However, some strandings are still going unreported in the UK, so we are launching a new campaign to encourage more people to report stranded animals to us, helping build on our understanding of the threats that these charismatic species may face in UK waters." says Rob Deaville, project manager of the CSIP.

Thousands of illustrated leaflets containing information on how to identify stranded animals will be distributed around the UK coastline and made available online, to help obtain more accurate reports.

The Minister for Environment and Fisheries Richard Benyon said "Whale and dolphin strandings are distressing and we need to understand why they happen and what can be done to prevent them. The UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme is carrying out valuable work on whale and dolphin strandings which will help shed more light on this issue so that we can reduce the incidence of strandings in the future."

Public reports of strandings have enabled the CSIP to build up a vast database of information that is shared with scientists across the world. This important resource has helped generate many important discoveries, including the detection of persistently high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - chemical contaminants - in bottlenose dolphins and killer whales. Despite being banned 30 years ago, PCBs continue to pose a threat to marine top predators.

It is hoped that the new public appeal to report stranded cetaceans, seals, marine turtles and basking sharks will generate more information to feed into the investigations of the CSIP, whose research continues to inform policy both at a national and international level.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

Founded in 1826, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is an international scientific, conservation and educational charity: the key role is the conservation of animals and their habitats. The Society runs ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, carries out scientific research in the Institute of Zoology and is actively involved in field conservation in over 50 countries worldwide. For further information please visit www.zsl.org.

The collaborative UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) has been running since 1990 and is funded by Defra and the Devolved Administrations. The CSIP coordinate the investigation of all whales, dolphins and porpoises (collectively known as cetaceans), marine turtles and basking sharks that strand around the UK coastline. As well as documenting each individual stranding, the CSIP retrieve a proportion for investigation at post-mortem to allow the cause of death to be established. The data and samples collected during research have also facilitated a large number of international collaborations, which have addressed a wide range of scientific questions. Partner organisations in the CSIP are Zoological Society of London, the Natural History Museum, Scottish Agricultural College (Inverness) and Marine Environmental Monitoring. Further information on the CSIP and UK strandings may be found at www.ukstrandings.org, on Scottish strandings at www.strandings.org and on Welsh strandings at www.strandings.com. Information on strandings collected by the CSIP can now be directly accessed through the National Biodiversity Network gateway (www.nbn.org.uk).

The Cornwall Wildlife Trust Marine Strandings Network (www.cwtstrandings.org) is the official recorder for all marine strandings in Cornwall. The Marine Strandings Network consists of a team of over 120 volunteers who record all reported strandings on Cornwall's coastline. They also retrieve stranded animals for post-mortem examination at the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Truro (www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla) under the aegis of the Defra funded CSIP. Strandings in Cornwall can be reported by calling the 24 hour CWTMSN hotline on 0845 201 2626.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) is an organisation dedicated to the rescue and well being of all marine animals in distress around the UK. It has a network of trained and professional marine mammal medics who respond to call outs from the general public, HM Coastguard, Police and RSPCA. BDMLR is a registered charity and is operated entirely by volunteers, with rescue teams which are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Further information on BDMLR can be found at www.bdmlr.org.uk. The 24 hour hotline is 01825 765 546.

Royal Fish - Ancient laws give the Crown rights to such stranded cetaceans or 'Royal Fish'. Where cetaceans strand on Crown or public land, this prerogative is still administered today by the Receiver of Wreck in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and by Marine Scotland in Scotland. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency can be contacted by calling the 24-hour MCA information line on 0870 6006505.

Victoria Picknell
Press Officer
Zoological Society of London
Regent's Park
London
NW1 4RY
t: 020 7449 6361 f: 020 7449 6362
victoria.picknell@zsl.org
www.zsl.org