Dramatic rise in whale and dolphin strandings in Scotland

Research shows steep increases over past 30 years, after summer of strandings across Europe

The number of marine mammals stranded in Scotland has risen dramatically in the past 30 years, a study has found.

From 1992 to 2022, 5,147 cetaceans died on Scottish shores, and a new paper shows steep increases in the rate of strandings of up to 800% in some species, continuing exponentially every year.