Cetaceans that die from maritime traffic

To our surprise, last October a sperm whale washed up dead on Pals beach. with brutal injuries. Maritime traffic and noise pollution are the main cause of mortality for cetaceans on the Girona coast.

In October 2025, we found a large dead sperm whale on Pals beach with brutal wounds caused by a giant propeller.

To the south of the Pals Bay, the beginning of the Fonera Canyon. It is a sheer marine cliff with a steep slope, dropping rapidly from 200 to over 2,000 metres in depth. It is of vital importance for its biodiversity of sponges, gorgonians, deep-sea white corals and invertebrates. At the same time, large cetaceans such as sperm whales and baleen whales find refuge here.

A short distance from Pals Beach lies one of the Mediterranean's main sea routes for large vessels. A veritable motorway of ships passing at high speed. The motorway runs between the’Cetacean Migration Corridor Marine Protected Area and the AMPs of Mountains of Begur, Medes Islands and Montgrí.

The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) It is the largest predator on the planet., the largest whale in the toothed cetacean group. The male can exceed 18 metres in length and weigh more than 60,000 kg. It dives for 35 to 90 minutes at depths of 310 to 920 metres, although it can exceed 3,000 metres.

Cetacean Migration Corridor

The’Mediterranean Cetacean Migration Corridor Marine Protected Area It covers a sea area similar in size to Aragon. It stretches from Alicante to Girona and runs parallel to the Balearic Islands.

The corridor extends north from the Cape Creus in Girona, until Nau Cape to Alicante to the south. To the east, it runs parallel to the coast of the islands of Ibiza, Majorca and Minorca, at a distance of 13 km. To the west, also parallel, it lies more than 38 km from the Catalan and Valencian coasts.

This is a continuous strip of maritime waters of 46,385 km² of surface. With an average of about 85 km It is about 100 kilometres wide, stretching between the Iberian coast and the Balearic Islands. These waters represent great ecological value. They form a migration corridor of vital importance for the survival of cetaceans in the Western Mediterranean.

Biodiversity in the Corridor

CETACIS

The corridor is a migratory passage area for Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) which maintains specific migratory patterns. That is, for its breeding and feeding areas in the northern Mediterranean.

It also hosts a great diversity of cetacean species that are not governed by any known migratory patterns. Nevertheless, we know that it is the habitat and feeding area of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) and the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). Also of Male dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) and the Short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis). At the same time, we find deep-diving cetaceans such as the Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) and the long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas).. As well as the Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) and the minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata).

Turtles

As for the Sea turtles (Chelonioidea) we find the Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), the Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the Hammerhead shark (Dermochelys coriácea).

AUS MARINES

We find several protected seabirds such as the Cory's shearwater (Calonectris borealis) and the Mediterranean grey gull (Calonectris diomedea). Other seabirds are the Whiskered tern (Chlidonias hybridus), the Black tern (Chlidonias niger) andStorm bird (Hydrobates pelagicus). Furthermore, the Slender-billed gull (Chroicocephalus genei), the Mediterranean gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus), the Silver gull (Larus michahellis) and the Black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus).

Also the cormorant o Common shag (Gulosus Aristotelis o Phalacrocorax aristotelis), the Great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) or the Pygmy cormorant (Dwarf microcarps) (Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii). As well as the Common tern (Sterna hirundo), the Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) and, more of an archipelago, the Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus).

Migratory birds

Other migratory birds that use this corridor are the Black stork (Ciconia nigra), the white stork (Ciconia ciconia), thePurple Heron (Ardea purpurea), the Pink flamenco (Phoenicopterus roseus), the Jack Snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus), the Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago), the great snipe (Gallinago media), the hoopoe (Upupa epops), theEuropean honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus), the Brush sparrow (Prunella modularis), the Eleanor's falcon (Falco eleonorae), the Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola), the fieldfare (Turdus pilaris), the northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), the kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), the Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina), the Blackbird (Turdus merula), theEurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis), the‘Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), the Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), the Common cormorant (Botaurus stellaris) or the Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus).

Protection

The species that use this corridor are included in the List of Wild Species under Special Protection. In addition, the fin whale, the common bottlenose whale, the black-headed dolphin, the common dolphin or the loggerhead turtle are “vulnerable” in the Catalogue of Threatened Species. Both lists are regulated by Royal Decree 139/2011 of 4 February, in Special Protection Regime and the Spanish Catalogue of Threatened Species and to Catalogue of the Fauna of Catalonia (Decree 172/2022).

Since 2022, all the aforementioned species have been included on the list of endangered or threatened species of the’Annex II of the Protocol on Particularly Protected Areas of Importance to the Mediterranean (ZEPIMTherefore, it is necessary to ensure the maintenance of each of these species in a favourable conservation status. However, to date, there is still no Management Plan There is no specific or generic conservation measure for any of these species within this area.

The objective is to protect the great diversity of cetacean species from the effects associated with underwater noise. Protection must be extended to birds and sea turtles that use the area as a migratory corridor and to the other valuable species in this global biodiversity hotspot. Between the coast and the protected area there is intense maritime traffic and The State has not yet guaranteed the proper management of protected areas..

JUST A NICE WET PAPER

According to the Ministry for the Ecological Transition: «the declaration implies taking measures to ensure protection is effective. For example, «a plan to reduce marine noise, or the prohibition of new hydrocarbon exploration». In this way, according to Miteco, «We are approaching the 13% of protected marine waters.». That's it «above the 10.1 per cent target set by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity for 2020».

Most AMPs are only protected on paper. This is due to a lack of effective management and the slowness in approving the various AMP management plans.

The new objective of the UN Convention on Biodiversity obliges to protect the 30% from seawater and the 10% with strict protection. Currently Less than 11 per cent of waters enjoy strict protection., with an approved and current Management Plan.

The preventive protection regime prohibits the use of active systems intended for underground geological investigation. The prohibition applies both to probes, compressed air or controlled explosions, and to underground drilling.

Any form of hydrocarbon extraction activity is prohibited. This prohibition does not apply to existing exploration or exploitation permits. The delimitation is insufficient to ensure the survival of these species. The area located between the coastline and the corridor of over 38 km is excessively broad, has no regulation and is not managed.

Non-existent management plan

Royal Decree 699/2018 approved the protected area of the cetacean migration corridor. This law established a maximum of three years for the approval of a Management Plan. The area was included on the Barcelona Convention's ZEPIM List in June 2018. This plan should have been approved by 30 June 2021.

The reality is that cetaceans are dying due to maritime traffic off the Girona coast. The Plan has not yet been drawn up and the preventive measures are insufficient. Maritime traffic and fishing in this area have not been regulated, nor has a specific monitoring programme been activated.

The Fifth Provision of the Royal Decree stipulates that the measures included in the regulation shall not entail any increase in allocations, remuneration or other personnel expenses. As we have said, this maritime waters area has an area of 46,385 km² And for its proper management, funding and staff must be increased.

Physiology of Cetaceans

The Underwater noise pollution puts the survival of marine wildlife populations, and especially that of cetaceans, at risk.

Cetaceans have a unique physiology, as they rely on sound for all their activities.

They use sounds and ultrasound for vital activities such as spatial orientation, feeding, communication, reproduction and rearing. This regulation, with its preventive measures, has neither reduced the impact on noise pollution nor lowered the risk of collision. This causes cetaceans to die as a result of maritime traffic.

Maritime Transit and Noise

Massive maritime traffic of vessels and trawling have an impact on cetaceans. due to noise pollution and risk of collision. Whales are dying because of maritime traffic off the coast. The future industrialisation of the sea by offshore wind power along the Costa Brava in Catalan waters and the Côte Vermeille in France poses a new risk.

Submarine cables and future floating offshore wind farms. The wind turbines and their guying systems and mooring anchors will be large-scale, also putting biodiversity and the survival of cetaceans in and around the corridor at risk.

In the telecommunications sector, many connections are made via submarine cables. These are particularly important in island territories, such as the Canary and Balearic archipelagos, which are isolated from the mainland. The cables are primarily fibre-optic, but there are also electrical ones.

The Costa Brava has intensive fishing activity. In the following image we can see the fishing grounds at Cap de Creus, the Gulf of Roses, Pals Bay and Palamós.

MARINE MANAGEMENT PLAN (POEM)

The Marine Planning Plan approved by the Ministry designates Pals Bay and the Roses Gulf as the’Preferred marine area for offshore wind. It is one of the most biodiverse areas of this marine region and of the Mediterranean. The LeB 1, off the coast of Girona, covers an area of 250 km² at a distance of 12 km from the shore. The waters have a depth of between 100 and 500 metres.

According to different scientific studies, The impact on cetaceans, the whale corridor and the rest of the habitats and species will be very significant. To all this, one must add the lack of management of protected areas, trawling and submarine power cables. Maritime traffic is particularly significant within this area, between the mainland coastline and the cetacean corridor.

Scientific knowledge

In 2022, prestigious scientists such as Antonio Turiel, Josep Lloret, Rafael Sardà, Elisa Berdalet, Josep Maria Gili and Ana Sabatés, who have studied the sea of Empordà, they appeared at the Climate Action Commission of the Parliament of Catalonia. These scientists warned of the devastating consequences for cetaceans and other species from the establishment of large-scale offshore wind farms in the Gulf of Roses and Pals Bay. You can find their interventions here.

In this final image, you can see the density of recreational navigation in the Gulf of Roses during 2018. This is calculated by the number of positions per km², expressed as a ratio to the number of snapshots used. In this way, you can see that the marine protected areas are precisely those with the highest navigation density.

Expanding the park's boundaries and improving its management could reverse this situation. We call for the urgent expansion of the boundaries of the Natural Park.. The expansion should be carried out along the protected marine area from Pals Beach and the Begur Mountains to the cetacean corridor. Adequate regulation of maritime traffic within this area is required, and it should be designated as a no-industrialisation zone, free of offshore wind farms.

All photographs of the sperm whale © Palafrugell firefighters.

Date of creation of the article: 21/03/2026.

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