22 September 2009: The common fin whale of Antwerp

On September 22d, 2009, a whale was observed on the bows of a vessel that was entering Antwerp harbour. The results of the autopsy were the following:
- species: common fin whale, adult, female
- good physical condition before death (thick layer of blubber)
- length: 20m!
- estimated weight: 40 t!
- numerous internal wounds in the ventral cavity, broken ribs
- cause of death: died after collission with ship 2 to 3 days ago.

5 March 2006: The humpback whale of Lombardsijde

On Sunday 5 March 2006, a humpback whale stranded dead on the beach of Lombardsijde, near Nieuwpoort. The female whale was 10,5 meter long and weighed 15 tons. The autopsy had the following results:

3 January 2005: relatively large porpoise bycatch in beach fisheries in 2004

With a maximum length of 1.8m, the porpoise is the smallest cetacean found in the North Sea. After decades of almost total absence, this marine mammal has again become fairly common in Belgian waters since the second half of the 1990s. Porpoises are often observed here especially in the spring (January to May). The number of stranded animals has also been increasing for some time now. Between 1990 and 1996, three to six stranded porpoises were reported every year. From 1997 to 2004, this figure rose to 40 (in 2004) a year.

Article: Haelters, J. & Kerckhof, F., 2004. Hoge bijvangst van bruinvissen bij strandvisserij in het voorjaar van 2004. De Grote Rede 11: 6-7

7 January 2005: Stranded ocean sunfish

An ocean sunfish (Mola mola) has been found on the beach of Knokke-Heist. This fish was 81 cm long, 104 cm high and weighed 35 kg. During the last week, several Sunfish have been found dead on beaches in the Netherlands.

The sunfish has been transported by MUMM to the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, to complete the collections.

15 December 2004: dead minke whale at sea

On 14 December 2004, Eric Stienen from the Institute of Nature Conservation observed a dead minke whale, a few kilometres off the coast of Nieuwpoort. It was taken on board of the "Zeehond" and brought on land. The young female minke whale was 4,20m long. She was still in a good condition.

Minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) live in all oceans and seas. They are the smallest and most common whale of the northern North sea. Minke whales are rarely seen in the southern part of the North sea, at our coast. They eat small pelagic fish such as herring.

There are only 3 known strandings of minke whales in Belgium: Blankenberge (1931), in the Scheldt, Hemiksem (1865) and in Blankenberge (1837). In the Netherlands there have been a few strandings in the last years.

Scientists of the University of Liège carried out an autopsy to try and find the cause of death. Their observations were very clear: the animal showed fish net marks on the outside. The whale drowned in a fishing net. The animal was not very healthy: its fat layer was too thin. In the stomach of the whale, scientists found 27 kg of fresh fish.

5 May 2004: sighting of a sperm whale

On 5 May 2004 Dr. John Van Gompel observed a large, live cetacean at sea in the vicinity of Blankenberge. Observers of MUMM on board the pollution control aircraft identified the cetacean as a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), apparently in a very bad physical health. The animal was last seen on the same day off the port of Zeebrugge. Just one month later a decayed carcass of a sperm whale washed ashore in the Netherlands. The same individual? We will never know.

More information on sperm whales (in French or Dutch)

26 February 2004: stranding of a dead sperm whale at Koksijde

On 26 February 2004 the decayed carcass of a sperm whale washed ashore at Koksijde. The lower jaw of the animal had been cut off long before. MUMM contacted foreign institutes dealing with marine mammal strandings. This made clear that the animal had already washed ashore a month earlier at Thornham, Norfolk (UK). There its lower jaw was cut off, and the animal was taken away again by the tides.

More information on sperm whales (in French or Dutch)

30 December 2003: stranding of a live Ocean Sunfish

The Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola) is a very rare animal at the Belgian coast. Only a small number of catches and strandings are known. Most strandings occurred in the month December. The Ocean Sunfish that stranded on 30 December 2003 was a juvenile of 59 cm long, 82 cm high and a weight of 11 kg. It died shortly after the stranding. The fish and its associated parasites were taken up in the collections of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.

Publication (in Dutch)

December 2003: arctic seals in the southern North Sea

In the North Sea, only the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) and the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) are indigenous seals. In late 2002 and in 2003 an unusual number of seal species usually occurring only in the Arctic (around northern Norway, Svalbard, Greenland,… ) was observed in the southern North Sea.

Hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) washed ashore in northern France on 25 September 2003 and in Middelkerke (Belgium) on 30 September 2003 (see picture). Both young animals died at the seal rehabilitation centre of Sea Life Blankenberge.

A young harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) washed ashore at Middelkerke on 15 June 2003. Sea Life Blankenberge took care of this animal. It was eventually released in the North Sea. Another harp seal was observed at the Belgian coast on 16 September 2003.

Sea Life Blankenberge took care of two young ringed seals (Phoca hispida) that had washed ashore in northern France in December 2002 and December 2003. These animals were released in the Channel and in the North Sea respectively. An unconfirmed report states that the first animal was killed in Greenland in January 2004.

Oil pollution during salvage works at the TRICOLOR wrecksite: a disaster for birds

On 14 December 2002 the car carrier TRICOLOR sank in the Channel, after a collision with a container ship. During salvage works on the wreck of the TRICOLOR, a relatively small quantity of oil was released at sea on the 22 January 2003. This oil would foul thousands of seabirds during the following weeks. At the Belgian coast more than 9.177 oiled birds were counted. MUMM together with the Institute of Nature Conservation, reported on this disaster in a report (Dutch with English and French summary).

“Het Tricolor-Incident: de gevolgen voor zeevogels in de Belgische zeegebieden” [also: front cover and colophon]

Stranding of a wounded grey seal

On the 12th of May 2001, a weak and wounded grey seal (Halychoerus grypus) stranded at Knokke, near the border with the Netherlands. The animal, a juvenile male of 38 kg, was wounded around the neck, an injury probably caused by entanglement in fishing gear. The animal has been taken to the seal rescue centre of Sea Life Blankenberge. It has been released at the Baai of Heist on June 29, 2001. The picture clearly shows the net marking around the neck of the animal.

Stranding of a dead grey seal

On the 29th of April 2001, a young male grey seal (84 kg) washed ashore at De Panne, near the border with France. The autopsy, performed at the University of Liège, indicated that the animal had died of drowning.

Third leatherback turtle stranding in Belgium

On the 19th of December 2000, in the late afternoon, a male leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) stranded near Ostend, Belgium. The animal measured 194 cm (body length) and weighed around 375 kg. It was alive when it stranded, but clearly in a very weak condition. It was taken to Sea Life Blankenberge, where it died a couple of hours later.

From the animal a cast was made, and it was autopsied on Friday the 22nd of December by the University of Liège. The autopsy revealed that a ship's propeller probably hit the animal, some days before the stranding occurred. Two parallel, deep wounds were found on the ventral side of the carapace.

This was only the third recorded stranding of a leatherback turtle in Belgium. The first concerned a decomposed carapace that washed ashore in December 1988. The second animal (September 1998) probably entered Belgian waters alive, but it was probably cut in two by a ship's propeller.