Muscat – A Bryde’s whale, counted among the ‘great whales’, died in Al Wusta on Wednesday following entanglement in fishing nets.

The Environment Authority (EA) issued a statement saying that its department in Al Wusta was alerted about the Bryde’s whale. ‘It washed up on Kanasa beach in Mahout. The cause of death is attributed to fishing nets.’

EA’s specialists took samples and measurements of the whale to conduct laboratory tests and analyses.

Ship strikes, by-catch and entanglement in fishing nets are some of the many factors threatening whales in Omani waters.

The Bryde’s whale is one of 20 species of marine mammals found in Oman’s waters and is one of four species of great whales found in the sultanate – besides the Arabian Sea humpback whale, Northern Indian Ocean blue whale and sperm whale.

Bryde’s whales are members of the baleen whale family and are named after Norwegian Johan Bryde who built the first whaling stations in South Africa in the early 20th century.

Bryde’s whales are found in warm, temperate oceans including the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific. Some populations of Bryde’s whales make short migratory movements with the seasons, while others do not migrate, making them unique among other migrating baleen whales.