In this handout photo from the University of Bergen taken on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, researchers from the university begin dissecting a two-ton whale that was beached in shallow waters off Sotra, an island west of Bergen, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of Oslo. Norwegian zoologists have found about 30 plastic bags and other plastic waste in the stomach of a beaked whale that had beached on a southwestern Norway coast. Terje Lislevand of the Bergen University says the visibly sick, 2-ton goose-beaked whale was euthanized. Its intestine "had no food, only some remnants of a squid's head in addition to a thin fat layer." (University of Bergen via AP)

Norwegian zoologists have found about 30 plastic bags and other plastic waste in the stomach of a beaked whale that had beached on a southwestern Norway coast.

The visibly sick, 2-ton goose-beaked whale was euthanized, Terje Lislevand of Bergen University said Friday.

"The (whale's) stomach was full of plastic," Lislevand said, adding that its intestine "had no food, only some remnants of a squid's head in addition to a thin fat layer."

Lislevand says the non-biodegradable waste was "probably the reason" why the male whale repeatedly beached last Saturday in shallow waters off Sotra, an island west of Bergen, 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of the capital of Oslo.

It size—about 6 meters (20 feet)—showed the whale was an adult.

The U.N. estimates that 8 million tons of plastic trash are dumped into the world's oceans each year, he said.

  • In this handout photo from the University of Bergen taken on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, researchers from the university lay out plastic bags found inside the stomach of a two-ton whale that was beached in shallow waters off Sotra, an island west of Bergen, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of Oslo. Norwegian zoologists have found about 30 plastic bags and other plastic waste in the stomach of a beaked whale that had beached on a southwestern Norway coast. Terje Lislevand of the Bergen University says the visibly sick, 2-ton goose-beaked whale was euthanized. Its intestine "had no food, only some remnants of a squid's head in addition to a thin fat layer." (University of Bergen via AP)

  • In this handout photo from the University of Bergen taken on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, researchers from the university show plastic bags found inside the stomach of a two-ton whale that was beached in shallow waters off Sotra, an island west of Bergen, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of Oslo. Norwegian zoologists have found about 30 plastic bags and other plastic waste in the stomach of a beaked whale that had beached on a southwestern Norway coast. Terje Lislevand of the Bergen University says the visibly sick, 2-ton goose-beaked whale was euthanized. Its intestine "had no food, only some remnants of a squid's head in addition to a thin fat layer." (University of Bergen via AP)

  • In this handout photo from the University of Bergen taken on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017, plastic bags are shown inside the stomach of a two-ton whale that was beached in shallow waters off Sotra, an island west of Bergen, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of Oslo. Norwegian zoologists have found about 30 plastic bags and other plastic waste in the stomach of a beaked whale that had beached on a southwestern Norway coast. Terje Lislevand of the Bergen University says the visibly sick, 2-ton goose-beaked whale was euthanized. Its intestine "had no food, only some remnants of a squid's head in addition to a thin fat layer." (University of Bergen via AP)

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