Dead whale pulled to shore by coast guards

A dead whale that floated in the waters off the northwest coast of the Kingdom was yesterday pulled to the shore. A team formed by the Coast Guard and the Supreme Council for Environment (SCE) removed the carcass of the 16-meter whale, which was found six kilometres off the coast of Salman City in the Northern Governorate.

Acting Director of Biodiversity in SCE, Noof Al Wasmi stated that the carcass is of a Baleen whale, aka whalebone whales, which are the largest species in the Arabian Gulf area. She explained that these whales grow up to 30 metres in length and that they have no teeth, as they are filter-feeders that filter the food from the seawater.

As Tribune reported yesterday, seafarers have been warned by the Coast Guard Command to avoid sailing in the area, where the whale’s carcass was spotted, considering their safety. Increasing numbers of carcasses of many sea creatures including whales, dolphins, turtles and more, have washed ashore on the Kingdom’s beaches of late.

Environmentalists and nature-lovers have warned of the repetition of such incidents, blaming it on harmful fishing methods and wrong behaviours of some fishermen that destroys the marine environment. As the carcass was pulled to the shore, several footage surfaced online showing many clicking pictures while riding on the floating carcass of the huge sea creature.