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That reports Omroep Friesland. Most of the dead sea creatures were discovered by a Coast Guard plane. “They are not fresh, they have died before. Due to the strong wind they washed up on the Wadden, “says Guus Schweigmann, beachcomber on Terschelling.
On Ameland, volunteers from the Ameland Animal Ambulance have almost a day job to accept all reports and to clear the animals from the beach, SOS Dolfijn reports. “Such a number of stranded porpoises within such a short period of time seems unprecedented.”
Schweigmann also calls the numbers that are currently washing ashore “crazy.” “You regularly come across a dead porpoise or dolphin. But so much, and at the same time on the other Wadden Islands, then there is more going on.”
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Almost all harbor porpoises washed ashore are in a state of decomposition, according to reports from Staatsbosbeheer Terschelling and Natuurmonumenten Schiermonnikoog. There has been a northerly wind for days, driving dead animals more quickly to the coast.
The cadavers are sent to the University of Utrecht for autopsy. The research should show how it is possible that so many harbor porpoises wash ashore at the same time. It is possible that the fish got into trouble somewhere or that they have become massively ill. “We know that there is an epidemic every ten to twenty years,” Schweigmann said.
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