SEEN IN THE PRESS – The remains of around twenty dolphins found in Turkey must be analysed. According to experts, their deaths could be linked to the war in Ukraine.
Collateral victims of the war in Ukraine? 24 dolphins were found dead this weekend on a beach in Istanbul on the Black Sea in Turkey. Their remains were taken away by the gendarmerie to be analyzed in order to determine the causes of death.
According to experts, these animals could be new victims of the war in Ukraine. “The shores on the other side of the Black Sea are a war zone,” said the volunteer from an NGO who found the bodies with the Turkish channel NTV. North of the Black Sea are the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol, Kherson and Mykolaiv bombed by Russia. “Did they die because of the chemicals in the water? We have to determine the cause,” continues the volunteer.
The Turkish Maritime Research Foundation says in a statement that it has observed “an extraordinary increase in the number of dolphins found dead” in this area for the past month. If most of the dolphins found stranded on the beaches died in the nets of fishermen, this excess mortality in the Black Sea raises questions. “We are studying the effect of climate change, unusual maritime traffic, fish migrations and intense military activities,” added the foundation.
It was a volunteer from an animal aid NGO who found the bodies of 24 dolphins on a beach in Agaçli, in the north of Istanbul, and who alerted the authorities, reports the Turkish channel NTV.
To determine the causes of their death, the gendarmerie took away the remains of the animals in order to carry out an autopsy.
DUE TO CHEMICALS IN THE WATER?
For several associations, their death would be linked to the war in Ukraine. “The shores on the other side of the Black Sea are a war zone. Did they die because of the chemicals in the water? We must determine the cause,” said the volunteer, referring to the part of Ukraine that borders the Black Sea.
Indeed, the Turkish Maritime Research Foundation reported in a statement that “over the past month there has been an extraordinary increase in the number of dolphins found dead” in this area.
Note that the vast majority of dolphins found dead on Turkish beaches were trapped in fishing nets or pelagic trawls. Nevertheless, the reason for the unprecedented increase in these cases and their concentration in the Black Sea remains unexplained today.
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