About 1,700 seal bodies were found on the coast of the Caspian Sea, various reasons are given
On December 3, at least 700 seals were found on the Dagestan coast of the Caspian Sea. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of Dagestan reported on this. Experts have warned that this number may increase.
According to Kavkaz.Realii, when speaking about the causes of mass seal death, the Ministry attributed it to “natural factors”.
The dead seals were tested for bacteria and viruses, including Covid-19. It was reported from the Ministry that Astrakhan and in Moscow no deviations, including heavy metals or pesticides, were detected as a result of the studies.
“The death of more than 300 seals will not have a serious impact on their population, because according to the latest data, the number of Caspian seals is stable and this number is 270-300 thousand individuals,” said the Ministry of Nature of Dagestan.
The first facts about the mass death of seals were discovered on December 3 by specialists of the North Caucasus Federal Agency for Fisheries. Seal carcasses along the approximately 37 km stretch from the oil base to the mouth of the Sulak River coast detected along the lane.
Experts continue to explore the coasts across the country, joined by the staff of the Institute of Scientific Fisheries and Oceanography, the main goal of which is to reveal the cause of death of the seals. The information also emphasizes that the results of the investigations can be announced by the end of next week.
Shortly after this information was released Director General of the Caspian Protection Center Zaur Kapizov said that the number of dead seals reached 1700.
“From the looks of the seals we found, they died about two weeks ago. No signs of violent death, no remains of fishing nets were found. Most likely, the number of dead seals is more,” the state agency RIA Novosti quoted the director of the Center as saying.
It is not the first time that Dagestan officials explain the mass death of seals by natural causes. 2020More than 300 seal bodies were found between Makhachkala and Kaspiysk in December 2021, and 170 more in May 2021.
According to experts, only until June – 90% of dead seals from the bottom of the sea gas asphyxiation due to emissions (Acute respiratory failure due to lack of oxygen in the blood and tissues and too much carbon dioxide; suffocation AR.) died as a result.
According to statements made by representatives of the Dagestan authorities in 2017, as a result of the development of oil production on the shores and waters of the Caspian Sea, many traditional habitats of seals have disappeared or been heavily polluted.
According to the calculations of ecologists, there used to be about 1 million seals living in the Caspian Sea, but now this number is closer to 75 thousand.