Dolphin carcass found amid waste at Juhu Silver beach: 2nd case in 2 days, 4th this month

Barely two days after a dolphin carcass washed ashore at Girgaum Chowpatty, another carcass was discovered at Mumbai’s Juhu Silver beach on Sunday night.

The carcass had a fisherman’s net stuck in its teeth and was found in a debris of plastic waste on the beach by Sea Guardian Life Guard President Sunil Kanojia.

Kanojia reportedly found the carcass amid tonnes of litter while he was surveying the beach. The dolphin’s body will be sent for an autopsy to ascertain the exact cause of death.

According to one estimate, this was the fourth case of a dolphin washing ahore at Mumbai’s coastline this month and the tenth in 2018.

Earlier, the carcass of an eight-feet-long Indian Ocean humpback dolphin washed ashore at Girgaum Chowpatty on Friday. Since the creature died hours after washing ashore, it’s body was sent for an autopsy at Bombay Veterinary College, Parel.

Prior to that, dolphin carcasses washed ashore near Chimbai Beach and Bandra Bandstand on July 11 and 12 respectively.

The number of such cases have been on the rise since the last few months. According to marine experts, the collection of waste and pollution at the city’s beaches is the prime cause of death among mammals and other marine life.

In several past cases, where authorities were able to conduct an autopsy, the cause of death was identified as ‘respiratory infection’, which can be attributed to coastal pollution.

While several citizens, environmental groups, and NGOs have highlighted the issue and taken up the cause of beach cleanups, the situation is yet to improve drastically due to lack of apathy by the countless tourists who visit such places and litter.