Whale experiment project suspended

Norway 's whale hearing research project has been suspended after a whale died in bad weather overnight on June 2-3.

An adult minke whale off the coast of Australia. Photo: Robert Harding Pciture Library — An adult minke whale off the coast of Australia. Photo: *Robert Harding Pciture Library*

Starting in 2021, the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) will launch a minke whale hearing research project every summer. In the project, they will capture minke whales in the Lofoten Islands and conduct hearing tests before releasing them back into the wild, AFP reported on June 7.

The experiments, conducted in collaboration with the US National Marine Mammal Foundation, aim to gather information to set limits on the amount of noise humans are allowed to make in the ocean.

On the night of June 2-3, bad weather damaged the project’s experimental site, causing a barrier to break loose. One whale became entangled in it and died, FFI said. The incident occurred before this year’s experiments were scheduled to officially begin. The project has been suspended indefinitely while experts assess the incident and repair the experimental site.

“Our goal is to protect minke whales and other baleen species from harmful anthropogenic noise. We will continue to work on that. The welfare of the animals is our main priority in this experiment,” said Petter Kvadsheim, lead researcher at FFI. The project was previously scheduled to continue until the summer of 2024.

Kvadsheim said the incident on the night of June 2-3 was due to bad weather, not the test. He hoped the project could continue in the next few days, saying that only a small number of whales were needed to complete the project.

In 2021, a whale swam into the experimental site but quickly escaped. In 2022, another minke whale was captured but was immediately released after showing signs of stress.

The American Animal Health Institute (AWI) called on US and Norwegian authorities to immediately and permanently halt the project. "The team has failed for three years to collect data, caused stress to several whales when they were forced into large net pens, and now caused the death of one," AWI said.

In 2021, 50 international scientists wrote to the Norwegian government to protest the experiments. "We warned that these cruel and pointless experiments would kill whales and sadly, this poor animal lost his life before the experiments even started. No whale should have to face being locked in a cage and having electrodes implanted under its skin. These experiments should stop forever," said Danny Groves, a spokesman for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Foundation.

Thu Thao (According to AFP )

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