Bryde's whale with plastic bottle: Red alert for Thailand's seas!

Bryde's whale with plastic bottle: Red alert for Thailand's seas!

In a worrying incident, a 9.17 meter long Bryde's whale was discovered on a beach in Songkhla on December 5, 2025. The dead whale, which was in an advanced state of decomposition, had a plastic bottle lodged in its digestive tract, the Bangkok Post reported. This highlights the alarming marine pollution that is also prevalent in Thailand, one of the countries with the highest rates of plastic waste dumping into the sea.

The whale was found in Khao Rup Chang, Muang District, with no signs of entanglement or injury from fishing gear. Aside from the plastic bottle, no food residue was found in the whale's digestive system. Experts believe the whale likely died from an illness that affected its ability to eat. The liver also showed an abnormal yellow color, and most of the internal organs were severely decomposed.

Threats to whales and other marine life

The Bryde's whale incident is not an isolated incident, but reflects a larger problem affecting many marine animals in Thailand. Scientists have long warned that plastic waste and other environmental factors pose a real threat to whales and other marine life. Thailand is one of ten countries from which tens of thousands of tons of plastic waste enter the sea every year. According to the WWF, hundreds of endangered marine animals die in Thai waters every year, with two-thirds of them being dolphins and manatees.

The original Bryde's whale species, which also includes Rice's whales found in the USA, is under pressure. These are at risk from human activities such as oil and gas exploration and ship collisions. The BP oil spill of 2010 also had a devastating impact on populations. Since the volume of seismic explosions from oil and gas exploration is over 250 decibels, the whales' way of life is massively disrupted.

Measures against marine pollution

To reduce marine pollution in Thailand, WWF is actively involved with local communities and tourism businesses. These initiatives aim to analyze waste flows and provide recommendations for waste prevention. Awareness workshops will be held for school children and drinking water refill stations will be set up on Koh Tao Island and Trang Province.

Experts emphasize the need for better waste management and call for action at the administrative level. Thailand urgently needs an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework and the implementation of the Plastic Smart Cities initiative to reduce plastic pollution in the long term.

It is hoped that the tragic loss of Bryde's whale in Songkhla serves as a galvanizing call to address the most pressing environmental challenges and take action to ensure the survival of whales and other marine life. Protecting our oceans and their inhabitants is not only a responsibility, but also a necessity for future generations.

For more information you can read the articles Bangkok Post, GNOICC and Follow [WWF].