By: Eunice Jean C. Patron
With a significant number of marine mammals stranded in the Philippines over the past years, it is within the scope of local government units (LGUs) to address this pressing concern, scientists from the University of the Philippines – Diliman College of Science (UPD-CS) indicated in a recent study that encompasses data from the past almost two decades.
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A rare ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens) was stranded alive in Subic Bay on April 19, 2010. Annual stranding frequencies in the Philippines generally increased from 29 in 2005-2007 to 106 in 2020-2022. (Photo credit: PMMSN) |
Dr. Lemnuel Aragones, Alessandra Nicole Morado, and Honey Leen Laggui of the Institute of Environmental Science & Meteorology (IESM), along with Dr. Marie Christine Obusan of the Institute of Biology (IB), Dr. Jonah Bondoc of the Natural Sciences Research Institute (NSRI), and Dr. Leo Suarez of Ocean Adventure and Ewen Lawler of University of Canberra, assessed the changes in marine mammal strandings in the Philippines over space and time, as well as the types of species that got stranded in Philippine territory from 2005 to 2022.
