People wearing white gowns were moving around busily in a large, fishy-smelling space. Three native dolphins, dead, floating in the sea or frozen after being found on land, were on an autopsy table. They are nicknamed ‘smiling dolphins’ because they have faces with slightly raised corners of their mouths, but their bodies actually testify to the fact that they struggled in pain right before their lives were cut short.
“There is dark red congestion in the lungs, and there are bubbles in the bronchial tubes, which are the large airways in the lungs. “It looks like he died because he couldn’t breathe underwater.”
Whale Research Center under the National Institute of Fisheries Science located in Ulsan on the 24th of last month. Lee Gyeong-ri, a marine and fisheries researcher who was dissecting the youngest of the three, said, “It may have died as a bycatch and was abandoned, wandering on the sea, and then found (stranded) on land. ”
Foam in the lungs is a typical sign of suffocation in dolphins that breathe through their lungs. When seawater entering the respiratory tract irritates the mucous membrane, the mucous membrane secretes mucus to protect the airway. When the cells on the surface of the mucous membrane burst, the blood, mucus, and seawater that flow out mix and form bubbles. The story goes that he got caught in a fishing net and ‘suffocated’ without being able to rise to breathe .
Since the shark was designated as a marine protected species in 2016, the distribution route for whale meat has been blocked, so fishermen often throw the shark into the sea when they catch it. Based on the protrusions around the tongue, the researchers estimated that it was an immature animal about two years old that was still being weaned.
The 163cm long female Sanghoe on the autopsy table next to him had a greatly curved lumbar spine. This is an object that was found drifting dead in the waters off Ulsan in December 2021. “After death, the ligaments are rigid and pull the lumbar spine, so its shape is fixed even when subjected to shock. “This elephant’s vertebrae likely had a curved lumbar vertebrae at birth or a fractured lumbar vertebrae due to an external impact.”
In response to the question, ‘What kind of external shock스포츠토토 is most likely to be?’, the researcher continued. “If it was from a killer whale or shark, there would be sharp teeth marks on the skin, but there was no such damage. “It means it collided with something blunt, and the most likely possibility is a collision with a ship.”
The remaining individual is a male Sanhoe that died of suffocation after being caught in a gill net in the East Sea in March 2019 . A gillnet is a net installed along the path where fish pass. In the second marine mammal dissection survey conducted from the 21st to the 25th, including the dissection on this day, autopsies were conducted on 11 animals, including 7 sea snails, 3 common dolphins, and 1 spotted seal. Previously, in the first survey in July, 11 sharks, common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, and spotted seals were dissected.
About 1,000 whales die every yeardo. According to the Korea Coast Guard’s issuance of cetacean processing certificates, 5,252 whales have died off the coast of Korea over the four years since 2019. A cetacean processing certificate is a certification document issued to a person who reports a bycatch, stranded, or drifted whale. Sanhoes account for the largest proportion (3,544 animals, 67.5%). This was followed by common dolphins (1,070) and sickle dolphins (212). Both dolphins are protected marine creatures like sharks.
Bycatch is a representative cause of mortality. According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, among the whales that died between 2017 and 2020, 2,890 were bycatch that died after being caught in fishing nets during fishing activities, accounting for 70.3% of the total deaths (4,109) . Kim Byeong-yeop, a professor at the Jeju National University College of Marine Science, said, “The actual damage caused by bycatch is likely to be more severe due to the hassle of reporting to the Coast Guard and issuing documents.”
Due to economical fishing activities and the government’s lukewarm response, Korea’s cetaceans are headed toward extinction. The number of sharks alone plummeted by about 64% from about 36,000 in 2005 to 13,000 in 2011 . Considering that approximately 900 to 1,000 sharks die each year due to bycatch, the current population is estimated to be less than 10,000.
Previously, the National Institute of Fisheries Science created an improved net that allows sharks to escape by attaching a separate escape guidance net, but its distribution is sluggish. Professor Kim emphasized, “Fishermen are reluctant to use dolphins because they are concerned that fish will escape through the shark escape hatch,” and added, “The government should not stop at recommending use, but should actively take action to stop dolphin bycatch by compensating for losses.”
The researcher was concerned that the decline of dolphins, which occupy a similar position to humans in the food chain, could eventually have a negative impact on humans as well. “The impact that the marine ecosystem has on dolphins also applies to humans. “That makes it even more unfortunate that the number of dolphins is decreasing, which allows us to indirectly see how microplastics and marine debris affect the human body.”