This information comes from Ivan Rusev, an ecologist at the Tuzlovski Lymany National Park.

Reports suggest that dolphins in the Black Sea are dying due to weakened immune systems and pollution. Environmentalists argue that the primary cause of mortality is concussions from military sonar devices used by the Russian military to detect underwater objects.

“These marine mammals suffer from concussions, which became prevalent in 2022 during the active phase of the conflict in the northwestern part of the sea. Even after Ukrainian forces pushed their military vessels back to occupied Sevastopol and then to Novorossiysk, dolphins continue to be harmed by the use of lethal military sonars. Consequently, the impact of sonar leads to a decline in immunity and various diseases, including skin conditions,” says Ivan Rusev.

According to ecologists, over the past three years, more than 80,000 cetaceans have died due to sonar, mine explosions, and bombings. Several thousand more have perished from oil spills resulting from tanker accidents in the Kerch Strait.