'Mass stranding' exercise sees whales and dolphins beached on Welsh coast

The first mass stranding exercise in Wales has seen 30 volunteer medics trained in how to respond amid concerns more marine mammals are becoming beached.

Life-size dummies were wrapped in sheets, doused in water and moved onto inflatable pontoons before being carried to the water at Aberystwyth’s South Beach, Ceredigion.

In July 77 pilot whales beached in Orkney, the largest mass stranding in the UK for a century.

It occurred almost exactly a year after the stranding of 55 pilot whales on the Isle of Lewis in the Hebrides. Of the 142 whales involved in these two events, all but one died.

Wales has yet to see a similar mass stranding of pilot whales. But in January 2023, six common dolphins beached near Valley, Anglesey.

With help from members of British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), all eventually refloated on the next high tide – but one was later found dead.

Experts in Scotland point to a dramatic rise in the number of marine mammal mass strandings in the past decade.

Severe weather, illness and solar storms have all been blamed for disrupting the whales’ natural navigation system.

The end of most commercial whaling has also led to a surge in whale numbers, adding to the scale of strandings.

Increasingly, however, suspicion is falling on noisy marine environments caused by the industrialisation of our seas.

BDMLR said that, while dolphin and porpoise rescues are more likely in Wales, more mass strandings of marine mammals on the Welsh coast were “almost inevitable”.

“Our medics in the area were invited to come in to rescue them in simulated conditions, testing their first aid, assessment, rescue and communication skills,” said the organisation.

Volunteers came from across Wales and beyond, including several from Gwynedd. They draped wet sheets over the “whales” and kept them hydrated by pouring water over their bodies.

Trenches were dug under their pectoral fins to prevent them being damaged and to keep the animals comfortable.

Inflatable mats and pontoons were placed under the dummies so they could be lifted and carried back to the sea.

A BDMLR spokesperson said: “There are a variety of reasons why mass strandings can occur, including a sick or injured animal inadvertently leading the others ashore as they try to help it; being frightened by loud underwater noises such a sonar; or simply from becoming disorientated in unfamiliar intertidal or enclosed areas like estuaries and harbours.

“Here’s hoping we don’t have to attend to another mass stranding any time soon. Though it seems almost inevitable.”

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