Since 1990, more than 16,000 dead porpoises have been found on the beaches of North Sea countries. Most of these were found in the Netherlands, sometimes as many as 800 per year, researchers at Utrecht University discovered.
The researchers see an increase in the number of dead porpoises after 2005, especially in the southern part of the North Sea. There is no clear explanation. There may be a link with the increase in activities at sea, such as the construction of wind farms.
The porpoise is the most common whale species in the North Sea. He is also shy. That makes it difficult to identify where they like to be. Lonneke IJsseldijk, one of the researchers, believes it is important that research is carried out on this, so that it can be taken into account when building wind farms, for example.
The research is in the journal Biological Conservation published.
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