Strandings of True’s beaked whale in Mozambique and their destiny as marine bushmeat
With a vast coastline stretching for more than 2000km, Mozambique’s waters continue to hold great potential for new discovery and increased understanding of the cetaceans of the WIO. Here we use a specific stranding event to discuss the relevance of stranding records to our understanding, and the reasons why stranding events may be incompletely recorded or go entirely unreported. The documented fate of cetacean strands in Mozambique as marine bushmeat is raised as a topic of concern for conservation records and public health alike. A new stranding response strategy is currently being developed for Mozambique, with the hope of improving the reporting of stranding events and data collection
Reeve-Arnold, K.E., Keeping, J.A., Cockcroft, V.G., Guissamulo, A. 2020. New strandings of True’s beaked whale, Mesoplodon mirus, in Mozambique and their destiny as marine bushmeat. Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science 19:2 https://doi.org/10.4314/wiojms.v19i2.12
Contributor: Katie Elizabeth Reeve-Arnold
