The Ministry for the Ecological Transition has sent to the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office a transfer letter of information about the preliminary actions initiated for a possible crime against protected fauna species, in relation to the shooting suffered by Toñi, the orca (Orcinus orca) the longest-lived of the population of the Strait of Gibraltar and the Gulf of Cádiz, whose shooting marks were detected on August 10. The oldest matriarch of the orcas of the Strait of Gibraltar, 60 years old, was sighted with pellet shooting marks on her dorsal fin.
Toñi, also known as La Abuela, is not just any orca; she is the leader of one of the groups of the Iberian orca population and the bearer of the wisdom accumulated during her decades of life, which she transmits to the rest of her companions. Some of them are part of those known as gladis, those specimens that approach boats, physically interact with them and, in some cases, cause their sinking. This behavior has generated both interest and concern.
The ministry’s submission is part of the investigation that the department started as soon as the incident became known and in which various actions have taken place in recent weeks. The investigations point to a Spanish-flagged vessel that allegedly fired shots in Portuguese waters.
Likewise, the ministry has requested the collaboration of the Central Environmental Operational Unit (UCOMA) of the Civil Guard for the identification and, if applicable, taking statements from the alleged perpetrators. It has also asked for assistance in verifying the administrative and documentary status regarding the possession and use of weapons; as well as the preparation of the corresponding ballistic expert report and the carrying out of other investigative proceedings deemed pertinent to clarify the facts.
The Vice President of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, has insisted that this is a vulnerable species whose protection is supported by law. “From the ministry, we will continue with the investigations, collaborating both with the Prosecutor’s Office and the Civil Guard and Portuguese authorities, to try to clarify what happened and prevent this environmental damage from going unpunished. We will also closely monitor the evolution of the wounds,” she said.
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Sighting in Galicia
The attacked specimen has recently been sighted along with a group of orcas in Galician waters. According to available evidence, the wounds are evolving favorably.
Since August 13, environmental agents from the Subdirectorate General for Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity (SGBTM) of Mitecop have been carrying out preliminary investigative actions, after receiving information provided by the conservation entity WeWhale following a sighting of this specimen with pellet wounds on its dorsal fin.
The Director General of Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification, María Jesús Rodríguez de Sancho, and her Portuguese counterpart, Nuno Miguel Soares Banza, president of the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests of Portugal, are in communication to address this matter, in a context of coordination between the authorities of both countries.
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