Dead dolphins, naval mines: Russia-Ukraine war destroys the Black Sea
Summary
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has harmed Black Sea wildlife through military noise, naval mines, pollution and disrupted fishing, according to researchers and environmental groups cited in the article. A Ukrainian researcher estimated that more than 120,000 dolphins and porpoises had died by 2026, though observers in other countries said they could not determine the cause of every stranded animal’s death.Key Facts
- Fishing and poaching along Black Sea coasts fell after Russia’s 2022 invasion, which included an effort to occupy Ukraine’s Black Sea coast.
- Ivan Rusev, a researcher at Ukraine’s Tuzly Lagoons national park, estimated that about 50,000 dolphins died in 2022 and more than 120,000 had died by 2026.
- Rusev said military explosions, missile launches and sonar can disrupt cetaceans’ echolocation, which they use to navigate, communicate and hunt.
- The article links dolphin deaths to starvation, pollutants accumulated in blubber and respiratory infections caused by morbillivirus.
- The 2023 destruction of the Kakhovka dam released water contaminated with fertiliser runoff, heavy metals and machine oil into the Dnipro River system.
- Environmental groups in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkiye also reported increased dolphin deaths, but said decomposition often made the cause difficult to establish.
- The article says naval mines, fishing restrictions and pollution have contributed to declines in fish such as mullet and bluefish.
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