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Humpback Whale dies in waters offshore southern Belize

By on April 25, 2016
Humpback Whale dies (Oceana-Belize photo)

Humpback Whale dies
(Oceana-Belize photo)

Monday, April 25, 2016. Barranco, TOLEDO. The sight of a Humpback Whale swimming in Belizean waters made the rounds on social media in February drawing awe and admiration of the magnificent creature.

The news today is that the same Humpback Whale was confirmed dead today by fishermen from Barranco village in the Toledo district.

According to Oceana-Belize, local scientists believe the whale was either lost or was sick.

When Oceana personnel visited the waters offshore Baranco on Friday, they report that the whale was in obvious distress.

Humpback Whale (Oceana-Belize photo)

Humpback Whale
(Oceana-Belize photo)

They made a further discovery that the whale’s movement was being hampered by a Gill Net that was wrapped around tail.

“Gill-nets may look innocuous,” says Oceana’s Janelle Chanona, “But as this incident highlights, even a whale can become entangled in and affected by a gill-net. Repeated incidents involving protected and endangered species as well as charismatics continue to reveal the indiscriminate nature of these nets.”

whale_smOceana-Belize says that over the eight week period since the whale was first spotted in February, multiple sightings of the Humpback whale, estimated to be approximately 30 feet in length, were recorded in several locations in Belize, including the deep water channel leading to the Big Creek Port, Sciopio Caye, the Port Honduras Marine Reserve and Riversdale.

Reports out of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala also indicate fishermen encountered the whale in Guatemalan waters on April 6th.

Humpback whales are known to travel great distances during migration season and are known to travel to tropical and subtropical waters to breed and give birth.

Oceana-Belize says that efforts are currently underway to attempt a necropsy to determine the exact cause of death of the Humpback Whale in the southern waters of Belize.

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