Carcasses of 650–700 seals were found in the Kirovsky district of Makhachkala, on the coast of the Caspian Sea. They were found in the area from the oil depot to the mouth of the Sulak River, informs North Caucasian Territorial Administration (NCTU) of the Federal Agency for Fisheries.
The number of dead animals may increase, now SKTU inspectors are exploring the coast of the Caspian Sea throughout Dagestan. “The alleged causes of death have not been established at the moment,” the SKTU reports. To this end, laboratory tests will be carried out and data will be collected.
The regional departments of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Rosprirodnadzor, Rospotrebnadzor, Rostekhnadzor, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of Dagestan and the border department of the FSB in the region informed about the fact of the death of animals. The Central Administration for Fishery Expertise and Standards for the Conservation, Reproduction of Aquatic Biological Resources and Acclimatization was also notified.
According to the SKTU website, in 2016, the cause of death of more than 300 seals found on the coast of Dagestan, could become prolonged storms. At that time, the NKTU noted that the death of 300 individuals had little effect on the Caspian seal population. According to air and route records at the end of 2016, there were about 40,000 Caspian seals in the Caspian. As of the end of 2020, in the Caspian was from 270 to 300 thousand seals (genus from the seal family).
At the end of 2020, 313 seal carcasses were found on the coast of Dagestan. Then scientists established the natural nature of the death of seals.