In spring 2013 a record number of stranded and dead porpoises Phocoena phocoena has been recorded along the Belgian coast and further inland in the Scheldt bassin (harbour docks near Antwerp, tributaries). The author thinks a combination of shifted North Sea population (from north to south), a cold spring, bycatch (gillnetting) and construction works for a new wind mill park may have lead to this. The higher presence in the Scheldt estuary may be due to a restoring fish population in the river.
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