Post by LSDeep on Feb 19, 2006 22:32:28 GMT -5
By James C. McKinley Jr.
The New York Times
MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities are investigating the mysterious deaths of eight whales found washed ashore along the Sea of Cortez last month, an unusually large number that suggests someone or something is killing them off.
The whales come from several plankton-eating species and apparently died at sea in November and December, biologists said. But they do not show any signs of having been caught in long-line fishing nets, which sometimes suffocate the mammoth animals. Nor have biologists found any signs of a toxic spill or outbreak of disease that would account for their deaths.
"Right now, it's a mystery," said Luis Fueyo, an assistant federal prosecutor for environmental crimes, who is overseeing the investigation. "We have a puzzle."
The first sign something was wrong came on Jan. 4, when the remains of two humpback whales were spotted on the shore near the town of El Dorado in Culiacan state.
Scientists determined they had died in early November. Since then, six more giant carcasses have turned up, among them a third humpback, a minke whale, a fin whale and a baby gray whale. Three carcasses were discovered on Jan. 18 during an aerial search of the Sinaloa coast.
The discovery set in motion a frantic search for forensic evidence. Biologists tracked currents to determine if all the whales might have been in the same place when they died, even though they ended up scattered over a 500-mile coastline.
The investigators also looked for signs of disease or poisons, both natural and synthetic. It was slow going. All of the carcasses were badly decomposed. Only the baby gray whale provided enough tissue to test for diseases or poisons.
On Friday, environmental officials announced that those tests had found no evidence of a toxic algae bloom, other poisons or infections. Nor have the investigations turned up signs of mistreatment by fishermen.
The deaths occurred just as about 2,000 gray whales began arriving in the Sea of Cortez, where they spend winter every year as part of a centuries-old migration. Mexican officials say they usually find about 10 dead whales a year; nine in the space of two weeks have set off alarm bells.
Environmentalists say the Sea of Cortez, one of the world's richest fisheries and most diverse marine habitats, is poorly policed and substantially overfished because the Mexican government has granted more and more permits for trawlers to use long-line nets.
The deaths of so many whales has prompted urgent calls from some environmental groups for quick action to find the cause.
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company
The New York Times
MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities are investigating the mysterious deaths of eight whales found washed ashore along the Sea of Cortez last month, an unusually large number that suggests someone or something is killing them off.
The whales come from several plankton-eating species and apparently died at sea in November and December, biologists said. But they do not show any signs of having been caught in long-line fishing nets, which sometimes suffocate the mammoth animals. Nor have biologists found any signs of a toxic spill or outbreak of disease that would account for their deaths.
"Right now, it's a mystery," said Luis Fueyo, an assistant federal prosecutor for environmental crimes, who is overseeing the investigation. "We have a puzzle."
The first sign something was wrong came on Jan. 4, when the remains of two humpback whales were spotted on the shore near the town of El Dorado in Culiacan state.
Scientists determined they had died in early November. Since then, six more giant carcasses have turned up, among them a third humpback, a minke whale, a fin whale and a baby gray whale. Three carcasses were discovered on Jan. 18 during an aerial search of the Sinaloa coast.
The discovery set in motion a frantic search for forensic evidence. Biologists tracked currents to determine if all the whales might have been in the same place when they died, even though they ended up scattered over a 500-mile coastline.
The investigators also looked for signs of disease or poisons, both natural and synthetic. It was slow going. All of the carcasses were badly decomposed. Only the baby gray whale provided enough tissue to test for diseases or poisons.
On Friday, environmental officials announced that those tests had found no evidence of a toxic algae bloom, other poisons or infections. Nor have the investigations turned up signs of mistreatment by fishermen.
The deaths occurred just as about 2,000 gray whales began arriving in the Sea of Cortez, where they spend winter every year as part of a centuries-old migration. Mexican officials say they usually find about 10 dead whales a year; nine in the space of two weeks have set off alarm bells.
Environmentalists say the Sea of Cortez, one of the world's richest fisheries and most diverse marine habitats, is poorly policed and substantially overfished because the Mexican government has granted more and more permits for trawlers to use long-line nets.
The deaths of so many whales has prompted urgent calls from some environmental groups for quick action to find the cause.
Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company