Ministry of Ecology: Freezing and by-catch as possible causes of mass death of seals

NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources says that the dredging works conducted on the Caspian Sea did not cause the mass die-off of seals, Kazinform reports.

«According to the report submitted by researchers, it was impossible to detect the exact reasons for the seals’ death, because the discovered carcasses had been highly decomposed. Researchers and relevant authorities say that malnutrition and freezing of newborn pups on the ice, incidental catch of adult species as well as collisions involving vessels and seals under water allegedly caused the death of the animals,» the Ministry’s press service says.

As reported, carcasses of 94 dead seals were discovered on the Caspian shore in April 2022. 64 dead seals were found later on the coasts in the Mangistau region. All the discovered carcasses were decomposed to an extent it was impossible to conduct toxicological, histological, and virology tests.