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Bella Cariaso - The Philippine Star
May 16, 2026 | 12:00am
The report, released by the UP Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, looked at the stranding of marine mammals in the Philippines from 2005 to 2022, following up on an earlier study from 1998 to 2009.
STAR / File
MANILA, Philippines — A study conducted by experts from the University of the Philippines (UP) and University of Canberra found 1,368 stranding events of marine mammals over 18 years in the country.
The report, released by the UP Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs, looked at the stranding of marine mammals in the Philippines from 2005 to 2022, following up on an earlier study from 1998 to 2009.
The study showed 1,368 stranding events, averaging 76 per year, with some fluctuations over time. It said that of the 30 marine mammal species, 27 species were stranded along the coasts.
The most common stranders are the spinner dolphins, dugong or sea cow, Risso’s dolphin, Fraser’s dolphins and melon-headed whales.
According to the study, most strandings involved a single animal and more than half of them were alive when found.
The authors identified several hotspots along the Philippine coastline, mostly in Luzon, where strandings occur more frequently.
They investigated the timing of stranding events and found peaks in certain species during specific months, such as March to May for spinner dolphins, Risso’s dolphins and melon-headed whales.
The authors said the results of the study highlighted the importance of long-term data for tracking marine mammal stranding events and understanding the factors influencing these.
“This information is vital for monitoring strandings and generating relevant information essential for marine mammal conservation. All in all, the findings are important for creating strategies to protect and conserve marine mammals in the region,” the authors said.
The authors of the study are Lemnuel Aragones, Alessandra Nicole Morado, Marie Christine Obusan, Honey Leen Laggui, Jonah Bondoc and Leo Jonathan Suarez of the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology of the UP Diliman College of Science; and Ewen Kye Lawler of the Center for Conservation Ecology and Genomics of the Institute for Applied Ecology-University of Canberra.
