“Something terrible is happening at sea,” posted Oceana Belize on their Facebook Page. They are reporting a second whale that has been found in Belizean waters. According to Boat Captain Jason Westby, it’s a juvenile sperm whale which he found lifeless and floating near the Silk Cayes. Oceana Belize urges that an investigation needs to be launched to determine why these whales are dying.
Just a couple weeks back, on August 18, Executive Director of TIDE Celia Mahung received a call from concerned citizens that a whale was sighted off coast just south of Punta Gorda in the vicinity of Orange Point Area. This time an adult whale was partly grounded in shallow water, but despite rescue efforts it died that afternoon. It was observed that blood was coming from the whale’s blowhole and one of its fins seemed injured. With assistance from community members samples from the whale to determine the cause of death and for further analysis were taken by TIDE personnel. The whale measured 30 feet in length with tail width of 6 feet.
