Maritime Seine: two whales stranded in two days

Two terrible discoveries in two days. After a cetacean about twenty meters stranded this Wednesday on a beach in Seine-Maritime, another whale about three meters was stranded on another beach in the department of Veules-les-Roses, just 7 km away.

“The operation is being prepared in parallel by public services together with various partners, public and private, to ensure its withdrawal as soon as the conditions are met,” the Seine-Maritime Prefecture said in a press release. shipped on Thursday evening.

On the eve of the beach of Saint-Valery-en-Caux, a cetacean 19 m long and weighing about 30 tons ran aground. “The fin whale has sadly died,” said a press release from the mayor of Saint-Valery-en-Caux, who issued an order to close the beach to the public.

Whales killed by wind farm noise?

In a press release, the prefecture indicated that towing the cetacean “seemed to be particularly dangerous” due to its size, tide period, and weather-related navigational difficulties. “Under these conditions, the discovered carcass will be subject to regular monitoring of its position, as well as urgent notification of boatmasters in order to prevent the danger of a collision,” the same source said.

Following the two landfalls, ocean protection NGO Sea Shepherd called for an “independent investigation into noise pollution levels generated by a wind farm currently under construction at Fecamp, 40 km away.” The association explains on its website that “whales are extremely sensitive to noise, which disorientates them, prevents them from communicating and feeding, and can even cause internal bleeding and death. »