Ukrainian scientists name causes of dolphin deaths in the Black Sea

"There have never been so many deaths as from the war," scientists state. However, there are other causes of dolphin mortality.

Rubryka interviewed Ukrainian scientists—Ivan Rusiev, Tuzly Lagoons National Nature Park leading scientist, and Pavlo Holdin, zoologist, paleontologist, and Schmalhausen Institute leading researcher—about the problem of high mortality of dolphins in the Black Sea in 2022.

Scientists have named several reasons why dolphins are dying in the waters of the Black Sea. In particular, these are toxins entering the water from agricultural enterprises, microplastics, infectious diseases, and poaching and fishing nets that are not equipped with pingers that scare off dolphins.

However, most deaths are related to military operations. The military on ships and submarines uses special sonar for navigation, emitting powerful and low-frequency signals affecting the dolphin's inner ear, the organ of navigation and hearing. Because of this, the animal becomes "blind." Having lost their orientation, animals lose acoustic control over the environment. With such an injury, dolphins can no longer get food; their body weakens, leading to the animal's death.

"Very few dolphins exist in the Black Sea, but there have never been so many deaths as from the war," Ivan Rusiev says about the problem of dead dolphins. He called it the most significant issue. "Their numbers are meager; they die very quickly, and restoring the numbers is challenging," the scientist believes.