Ghost net kills another humpback dolphin on Kozhikode coast

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The carcass of the Indian Ocean humpback dolphin that washed ashore on Kozhikode beach. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Dolphin carcasses with fishing nets in their digestive tracts continue to wash ashore on Kozhikode beach. In the latest incident, an Indian Ocean humpback dolphin (Sousa plumbea), an endangered species on the IUCN Red List, was found dead, with a necropsy confirming that it had starved to death after ingesting a fishing net.

Officials said the carcass, measuring approximately 158 cm in length and 140 cm in girth, washed ashore on Kozhikode beach on Thursday (September 10, 2026). The necropsy was conducted by K.M. Manojlal, chief veterinary officer at the District Veterinary Centre, Kozhikode, in the presence of officials from the Kozhikode Range Forest Division.

The post-mortem examination revealed that the carcass was more than 10 days old and in an advanced state of decomposition. Despite extensive decomposition of the internal organs, a detailed examination of the oesophagus and stomach was carried out. Officials found a large, compacted mass of fishing net filling the stomach cavity. The obstruction prevented the dolphin from feeding, resulting in severe starvation and ultimately its death, officials said.

This is the second humpback dolphin death reported in the region in recent months under similar circumstances. In July, a dolphin weighing around 200 kg was washed ashore on Kozhikode beach. In that case, although most of the organs were found to be functioning normally, the autopsy revealed that the stomach was empty and a 2-kg plastic fishing net was tightly lodged in the oesophagus. The obstruction disrupted normal feeding and was determined to have caused the dolphin’s death.

Humpback dolphins are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. Environmentalists and marine experts have called for urgent measures, including the removal of plastic debris and abandoned or lost fishing gear, commonly known as ‘ghost nets’, from coastal waters to prevent further harm to marine life.

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