More than twenty dolphins were found dead this weekend on a beach in Istanbul, on the shores of the Black Sea, in Turkey. An abnormal increase in the mortality of these cetaceans which could be linked to the war in Ukraine, according to some experts.
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.
Because of 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 from 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.
