The unusual series of whale strandings on Bali has raised concerns in Indonesia about the welfare of these large marine mammals. So far this year, the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Affairs has recorded 21 unexplained whale strandings across Indonesia, including the partial carcass of a 10-metre sperm whale that washed ashore on Bali’s southern coast on January 19, and the remains of a 10 metre sperm whale found floating off the coast of the Kangean Islands. The most recent event took place over the weekend when the carcass of a 17-metre-long sperm whale, which is not known to commonly strand, was discovered on Bali’s southwest coast. Wildlife campaigners have voiced concerns that the whale strandings are linked to plastic pollution, with Indonesia being the world’s second-largest source of marine plastic pollution after China, according to Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs.
