Three dead harbour porpoises have been found in Washington State in the past two days.
The animal remains were found on Whidbey Island, near Victoria, B.C., and in the middle of the harbour porpoises' stomping ground. The deaths have marine advocates concerned even though the cause of death is not yet known.
"Whenever we hear news of the deaths of marine mammals, we actually don't know enough to figure out what the problem might be," said Christianne Wilhemson with the Georgia Strait Alliance. "One of the concerns we have is increase in traffic in the Salish Sea and the Strait of Georgia, and issues around increased noise, and of course, the number of mammals that might be hit by ships."
However, marine experts say it is too early to determine whether the harbour porpoise deaths are out of the ordinary.
"Before anybody sort of hits the panic button, it's very important to look and say, ‘OK, has this happened in previous years?'" said Dr. Anna Hall, a marine biologist who specializes in porpoises. "And the answer is yes, in fact it happens almost every year at this time of year."
Hall said this time of year is the birthing season for harbour porpoises. The stress involved is believed to contribute to the death rate.
"If we were seeing large numbers coming ashore in December, I would be more apt to think, ‘OK, there's something very unusual going on,'" she said.
Wilhemson agrees that there can be various factors that caused the deaths of the animals. However, being unsure exacerbates the problem, she said.
"We won't know if it was a natural death, or maybe damage was done after the death, maybe they were hit by multiple things," she said. "How can we stop harming these animals if we don't know what's going on and what has actually caused their death?"
With files from CTV British Columbia's Penny Daflos.
