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In the first month of the war in Ukraine, more than 80 dolphins of the species dolphin dolphin were found dead along the western coast of the Black Sea, landscape that the Turkish Marine Research Foundation characterized as “an extraordinary increase,” in a statement released March 26.
The conflict in Ukraine may be the cause of these deaths. A number of experts justify this by the escalation of noise pollution in the north of the Black Sea, caused by the presence of about 20 ships of the Russian Navy and military operations.
Approximately 40 of these mammals died entangled in fishing nets. What happened to the other half is still “an unanswered question.”, took on Bayram Ozturk, head of the Foundation, told The Guardian: for there were no traces of wounds inflicted by either fishing nets or weapons on the carcasses.
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Acoustic trauma appears to be one of the possible causes,” Ozturk emphasized, warning: “We have no evidence that the low-frequency sounds of so many ships are the cause, but it is also true that we have never had such a large noise for such a long period of time – and science always requires proof.
Ships carry sonar to detect enemy submarines at long ranges, and underwater noise can have serious consequences for the survival of cetaceans.
This constant noise can’t kill the animals, said Pavel Goldin, a researcher at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, but this causes them “serious” concerns. For example, dolphins may move into uncharted territory in an attempt to avoid noise:This could be the reason for the mass migration of both fish and cetaceans to the south. [costas turca e búlgara do Mar Negro]”.
Research by the scientific community is hampered by the lack of protocols for the protection of marine mammals in times of war. “There are dozens of ships in the Black Sea, but we don’t even know how often they use sonar.“, – stressed Ozturk. According to the British newspaper, the lack of access to information not only determines the work on the death of cetaceans. it also makes it difficult to determine which animals are most at risk.
