Solving the mystery of the Chukotka stinky gray whales

Report of the Scientific Committee

“…The source of these bromophenols was identified as likely to be colonial near-shore polychaetes. Polyakova et al (2023) now consider this issue resolved.…”

“…Gray whales constitute an important part of the diet of the Chukotka native population. To investigate the problem of some whales having a bad smell and taste, various tissues of normal and stinky whales collected in 2020-21 were analysed using headspace solid phase micro-extraction with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (Polyakova et al, 2023). The most probable cause of the unpleasant smell is 2,6-dibromophenol which has a strong odour matching the odour of stinky whales.…”

“…The Committee received information on the phenomenon of 'stinky whales' (see Polyakova et al, 2023;Item 7.1.3). The authors report that the most likely source of this iodoformic odour was bromophenols (specifically, 2,6-dibromophenol), which were 500-fold higher in stinky whale tissues.…”