A whale found in shallow waters off the Norwegian coast had more than 30 plastic bags in its stomach and was clearly in poor health, so marine biologists took the decision to euthanise it.
When they opened the stomach the cause of the whale’s illness became clear. It had swallowed a huge amount of human waste including thirty plastic bags.
Zoologist Terje Lislevand told media the whale had been unable to digest any food for some time. ”I’m afraid to estimate how long it could have taken before the stomach was totally full,” he said.
The carcass of the goose-beaked whale, or Cuvier’s whale, is going to be preserved and later displayed at the University of Bergen.
A study by the World Economic Forum estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish, by weight, in the Earth’s oceans.
It also said that there at least 150 million tonnes of rubbish floating in the oceans today.