Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.08.2019, Page 14

A mass stranding of over 50 pilot whales
occurred in July on West Iceland’s
Snæfellsnes peninsula on the sand
island Gamlaeyri along Löngufjörur.
The whales were first spotted by David
Schwarzhans, a pilot for Reykjavík
Helicopters, and his guests during a
tourist excursion.
This is Iceland’s
second largest
mass stranding
of the past 40
years. The larg-
est mass strand-
i n g o c c u r r e d
in 1986, when
148 pilot whales
died at Þorlák-
shöfn. More than
30 pilot whales
were similarly
stranded at Rif
on Snæfellsnes
in 1983.
P i l o t w h a l e
incidents have
i n c r e a s e d i n
t h e s h a l l o w
coastal waters
off West Iceland
over the last few years. Edda Elísabet
Magnúsdóttir is a marine biologist at
the University of Iceland specialising
in whales. “Historically, we don’t have
many strandings,” she explains. “But
this is the third year in a row at least
where we’ve had pilot whales coming
dangerously close to the shore. In this
instance, they stranded.”
Whales have previously been spotted
dangerously close to the shores of Rif,
Arnarstapi, and Hellnar. Löngufjörur,
however, is located in the southeast
bend of the Snæfellsnes peninsula,
farther from open ocean. “Where
these whales stranded is a much worse
situation,” added Edda Elísabet. “We
didn’t know about it because it’s really
remote—you can’t go to this beach
unless you have a certain type of vehi-
cle. It can be very dangerous because
the tide comes in so quickly.”
R ó b e r t A r n a r
Stefánsson is a biol-
ogist and director of
West Iceland Nature
Research Centre.
“People can some-
times push them out
[to sea] to prevent
mortality,” he says.
“It’s worrying that
we’re seeing more
and more of this in
the last years.”
Stranded
hypotheses
The beached whales
extend in a line
along Gamlaeyri’s
coast, with most of
the bodies grouped
tightly together.
Their distribution
and numbers on the beach are linked to
pilot whales’ behaviour of travelling as a
herd. Each herd is combined of closely
related smaller families; the herd can
number 50-100 animals. “If a pilot
whale is stranded, it is very unlikely to
be a single whale, or two, or five. More
like 20 or more,” says Edda Elísabet.
It is not well known why pilot
whales strand, but there are several
hypotheses. Pilot whales are named
because they follow a lead animal,
usually a matriarch.
“Pilot whales are very social animals,”
comments Edda Elísabet. “If the herd
leader goes into an inconvenient area
or is hurt somehow, the group won’t
leave. We don’t know what happened [at
Gamlaeyri], but that’s something that
can happen.”
Anthropogenic factors
Róbert also indicates anthropogenic
factors could contribute to mass
strandings. “Sometimes, [mass
stranding] is due to human impact,
offshore drilling or military exercises,”
he explains. “There are also hypotheses
regarding Persistent Organic Pollutants
(POPs), because they bioaccumulate
and are in their highest concentration
in the oldest animals. Those animals
are sometimes the herd leaders and
POPs can cause nerve damage. In some
cases, that could be the reason.”
POPs include cadmium, mercury,
and the man-made chemicals DDT and
PCBs used for pesticides that circulate
through the food chain.
Róbert adds that these hypotheses
are not very likely in the case of
Gamlaeyri’s stranded herd. “It may
have had to do with sickness in their
leader, or that they were following prey.
They’re used to catching prey in much
deeper waters so they’re not as efficient
in shallow waters.”
Edda Elísabet concurs that it is likely
the herd followed prey, rather than
other theories, which have included
sound pollution caused by military
activity or avoidance of predators.
“Pilot whales primarily feed off squid,”
she says. “They also eat mackerel, which
can go into shallow waters. One of the
most obvious changes in Icelandic
waters is the increased abundance of
mackerel. The climate is changing and
we are seeing lots of changes in prey
distribution, which affects the whales.”
Tricky topography
Pilot whales have increased in abun-
dance in the North Atlantic in recent
years, and the waters west of Snæfells-
nes are currently a feeding ground for
the cetaceans. Increased abundance is
linked to a higher likelihood of mass
stranding. In this instance, though, the
whales were far into the fjord, which is
not their natural habitat.
At the time of the mid-July
stranding, a spring tide brought strong
currents with increased water during
ebbs and floods. “They could have
been swimming in when the tide was
in,” theorises Edda Elísabet. “Pilot
whales easily become disoriented
in these environmental situations—
strong currents, gradual bank, sandy
bottoms. This is the worst scenario
for this species and other deep-diving
whales, since they use echolocation to
navigate and locate prey. In Löngufjörur
where you have gradual sand bottoms
becoming shallower and softer, there
is less reflection by echolocation. The
whales can’t navigate as they would in
deeper water.”
Edda Elísabet adds, “The topography
of Snæfellsnes is less convenient for
them than the topography of the coastal
waters east of Iceland, where we have
lots of pilot whales between Iceland and
the Faroe Islands. They come close to
the East Fjords as well, but there are
not as many dangerous sand bottoms
and tidal currents as we have around
Snæfellsnes.”
Pregnant whale
During The Reykjavík Grapevine’s visit
to the site of the mass stranding, we
noted that the whales were distributed
with at least three males at the far ends
of the group, with a larger grouping of
females in the centre. Of note was a
female pilot whale,
who had been in the
process of giving
birth when she
died. Her calf had
partially emerged,
with the amniotic
sac torn but visible.
While neither
Edda Elísabet nor
Róbert have yet
visited the site for
direct observation,
Edda Elísabet found
the eye -witness
account interest-
ing. “I’m just hear-
ing that for the first
time now,” she says.
“It’s hard to say if
the way they strand
is the way they were
organised in the
group. But if there
was a female giving birth, then a large
part of the group is involved in that.
Other closely related females usually
try to protect and look after the female
giving birth. Males could have been
guarding the flanks. If the one who was
giving birth was the leading female,
that could have caused what happened
or had influence on what happened.”
“If a pilot
whale herd
leader goes into
an inconvenient
area or is hurt
somehow, the
group won’t
leave.”
Not an easy sight to take
Whale teeth were later taken for use in jewellery
Words:
a rawlings
Photo:
Art Bicnick
14 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 13— 2019News
Mass Whale Death
in Snæfellsnes
53 pilot whales die in mass stranding on Snæfellsnes island
Note: Getting
to Gamlaeyri is
hazardous. Don't
try to go there in
a normal car. For
the story of how
we got there, see
page 48.