https://doi.org/10.82144/5230b344 https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/731 https://www.gbif.org/dataset/7ba44a6f-e031-4c43-9c7c-d8de11263558 https://obis.org/dataset/7c55b26f-a47a-454d-a724-64e1b3bb9d74 Strandings Officer The Natural History Museum, London Primary contact strandings@nhm.ac.uk OBIS-SEAMAP Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University

A328 LSRC building Durham NC 27708 US

seamap-contact@duke.edu https://seamap.env.duke.edu OBIS-SEAMAP Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University

A328 LSRC building Durham NC 27708 US

seamap-contact@duke.edu https://seamap.env.duke.edu distributor Strandings Officer The Natural History Museum, London Primary contact strandings@nhm.ac.uk owner 2025-07-31 eng Original provider: The Natural History Museum, London Dataset credits: The Natural History Museum, London Abstract: The Natural History Museum has been monitoring whale strandings since 1913. In 1324, a statute was passed which gave the Crown qualified rights to cetaceans stranded on, or caught in the waters of England and Wales. Similar rights were claimed for the Crown of Scotland. The animals were described as "Fishes Royal." In 1913, by agreement with the then Board of Trade, these rights were transferred to the Natural History Museum in London, at that time known as the British Museum (Natural History). Since then, in monitoring cetacean strandings, over 8,000 animals have been recorded, some of the species being new to British waters. Initially, information was stored on a card index. Latterly, information is collated and entered on computer. The resulting database is used to produce <a href='http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/strandings/distribution.html' taret='_new'>distribution maps</a> and analyze information about the biology and ecology of the different species. The National Stranded Whale Recording Scheme is now the center of a coordinated investigation, funded since April 1990 by the then United Kingdom (UK) Department of the Environment, subsequently by the Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions, and now the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, into the biology and ecology of cetacean populations around the British Isles and is a contribution to the UK's program of research on the North Sea and its response to ASCOBANS (the Agreement on the conservation of Small Cetaceans Of the Baltic And North Seas). Investigations are carried out in association with the Institute of Zoology at Regents Park, London (London Zoo) which has responsibility for coordinating autopsies. Occurrence GBIF Dataset Type Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_type.xml Observation GBIF Dataset Subtype Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_subtype.xml Marine Biology Visual sighting Land-based Sightings N/A Time was not provided and filled with "00:00:00." Records without a date or latitude/longitude and a grid reference information were excluded. Pregnant individuals are not counted as mass strandings, even where the offspring are partially born, and the data given does not record this detail. This dataset is an updated version of a previous dataset published on SEAMAP as "UK NHM Whale Strandings 1970-79," last modified on 2004-03-11 12:42:47. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC) 4.0 License. https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/731 Oceans -27.3766 2.649929 61.5661124 38.7743 1913-02-13 2008-12-30 Scientific names are based on the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). genus Balaenoptera Baleen whales species Balaenoptera acutorostrata Common minke whale species Balaenoptera borealis Sei whale species Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale species Balaenoptera physalus Fin whale order Cetacea Cetaceans species Delphinapterus leucas Beluga family Delphinidae Dolphins genus Delphinus Common dolphins species Delphinus delphis Short-beaked common dolphin species Globicephala melas Long-finned pilot whale species Grampus griseus Risso's dolphin species Hyperoodon ampullatus Northern bottlenose whale family Hyperoodontidae Beaked whales species Kogia breviceps Pygmy sperm whale species Lagenodelphis hosei Fraser's dolphin genus Lagenorhynchus White-beaked dolphins species Lagenorhynchus acutus Atlantic white-sided dolphin species Lagenorhynchus albirostris White-beaked dolphin species Megaptera novaeangliae Humpback whale species Mesoplodon bidens Sowerby's beaked whale species Mesoplodon densirostris Blainville's beaked whale species Mesoplodon europaeus Gervais' beaked whale species Mesoplodon mirus True's beaked whale species Monodon monoceros Narwhal suborder Mysticeti Baleen whales suborder Odontoceti Toothed whales species Orcinus orca Killer whale species Peponocephala electra Melon-headed whale species Phocoena phocoena Harbor porpoise species Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale species Pseudorca crassidens False killer whale species Stenella coeruleoalba Striped dolphin species Tursiops truncatus Common bottlenose dolphin species Ziphius cavirostris Cuvier's beaked whale Every year, between 350 and 800 whales, dolphins and porpoises (collectively known as cetaceans) wash up on British shores. Most are dead, but some are still alive. The Museum is responsible for monitoring these strandings. Since The UK Whale & Dolphin Stranding Scheme started in 1913, more than 11,000 animals have been recorded. Museum scientists study the remains of dead stranded cetaceans to learn more about their biology. Their investigations reveal how many cetaceans strand in Britain each year, what species they are, where and when they strand, and the age and sex of the animals. They also research animal behavior and uncover causes of death. The data our scientists compile is used by other researchers, government agencies, conservationists and animal welfare groups. The information they provide is vital to increasing our understanding of whales, dolphins and porpoises, and conserving them in the future. The UK Whale & Dolphin Stranding scheme is one of the longest-running scientific investigations of its kind. It has generated a wealth of crucial information about these captivating marine mammals. notPlanned Strandings Officer The Natural History Museum, London Primary contact strandings@nhm.ac.uk NA NA NA Strandings Officer owner NA zd_731 2025-07-31T15:32:58-04:00 dataset Officer, S. 2011. United Kingdom National Whale Stranding Database 1913-2008. Version 1.6.0. Dataset published in OBIS-SEAMAP. https://doi.org/10.82144/5230b344. OBIS-SEAMAP Dataset Page UTF-8 Interactive map https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/731 FGDC Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/731/fgdc EML Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/731/eml OBIS-SEAMAP zd_731 zd_731