News emerged last week about the death of another whale due to the pollution in our oceans, which once again reminded us of the damning indictment of man’s impact on the natural world, this story made headlines around the globe.
This BBC headline was a horrible reminder of a similar occurrence in Norway last year and here on Mooney Goes Wild, we made a special programme about the Bergen Cuvier’s Whale. Kenneth Bruvik of the Hunter and Fisher Society has dedicated his life to removing plastic from the Norwegian coast.
Tests have confirmed that like the Bergen whale, the Cuvier’s Whale in the Philippines also died of starvation and dehydration. Films on Youtube showing sheets of plastic being lifted out of its stomach do not make for pleasant viewing. Researchers pulled nearly 90 pounds of plastic waste out of the stomach of the young cuvier beaked whale.
The corpses of 61 whales and dolphins have been recovered in the Philippines in the last 10 years, but scientists have said that this is the most plastic ever seen in a whale. The government there is now being urged to take action against people dumping plastic into the sea. Helgé Softeland, of NRK Radio in Norway joins Mooney Goes Wild to discuss this epidemic. Listen back above.
Helgé mentions Europe's first underwater restaurant which opened last week in Norway, over 7,000 customers have booked in to eat among the fish of Norway. The restaurant is called Under, which also means "wonder" in Norwegian. It was designed by Norwegian architecture firm Snoehetta, which also created the Opera house in Oslo and the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York.
"The fascination is just this movement from above water to underwater through the building. The big window exposes the underwater, not like an aquarium, it's the real thing," Snoehetta's founder Kjetil Traedal Thorsen told Reuters.
There are only a handful of underwater restaurants around the world, mainly found in tropical waters like the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.
Mooney Goes Wild presented by Derek Mooney airs Monday nights 10PM RTÉ Radio 1. Please visit our programme archive at the top right of this webpage for previous programmes, documentaries, and podcasts. You can contact us at Mooney@rte.ie
