“Environmentalists took samples for further research into the causes of the mass death of dolphins”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“From December 15, from the moment of the emergency situation, to December 22, 10 azovkas were recorded, the cause of whose death may be fuel oil spills,” ecologists note.
In Aleksin, 60-70 kilometers from Anapa, on December 22, eight dead dolphins were found at once – six on the shore and two in the water. According to environmentalists, this already qualifies as mass dumping.
“Such cases are quite rare in the coastal territory of the Krasnodar Territory. This is an extremely alarming situation,” said the Dolphin Rescue Center.
Environmentalists took samples for further research into the causes of the mass death of dolphins.
Azovka is a subspecies of dolphins that live in small groups of up to 10 individuals. Over the past 100 years, the population of this species of dolphin has declined significantly. According to the classification of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Azov animals are assigned the status of animals in a dangerous situation. According to some data, at the end of the 1990s, the total number of this subspecies of dolphins did not exceed 10,000 individuals.
On December 15, in stormy conditions in the Kerch Strait, two Russian vessels with oil products – “Volgoneft-212” and “Volgoneft-239” – suffered an accident. The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia reported the death of one sailor. As a result of the natural disaster, petroleum products were spilled. The scale is still unknown.
According to Russian mass media, “Volgoneft-212” was transporting 4,300 tons of fuel oil. The publications Shot and Baza claim that approximately the same amount of petroleum products was on board the ship Volgoneft-239.
Environmentalists believe that this accident will affect the ecology of the region for many years.