MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. The tenth expedition of the joint program of the Compass Foundation and Dagestan State University (DSU) on studying and preserving the Caspian seal population, held in December, found 400 corpses along the coast, the foundation's press service reported.
"A scientific group along with specialists of the Astrakhan State Biosphere Reserve and the Scientific and Expeditionary Center for Marine Mammal Research conducted surveys in the Russian part of the Caspian Sea, including Maly Zhemchuzhny island and the water area of the Middle Caspian Sea. Another case of release of dead seals was confirmed in December 2024 along the Dagestan coast; the scientists of DSU found 400 dead animals," the report says.
The expedition once again confirmed the concerns of scientists that the Caspian seal population is declining at an unprecedented rate. From early July to mid-December 2024, camera traps recorded only five living animals. Earlier, during the spring expedition, no animals were found at their rookeries.
"In early November, we received the first reports from our colleagues in Kazakhstan about the mass release of Caspian seal carcasses in the Mangystau Region. Simultaneously, on November 15-17, the death of mammals was also detected in the waters of the Russian part of the Caspian Sea on Maly Zhemchuzhny island, where camera traps recorded about 30 dead animals," said Alimurad Hajiyev, Vice-Rector of DSU, head of the Compass Foundation's program for the study and conservation of the Caspian seal population.
According to scientists, the spread of the bird flu virus is believed to be the main reason for the sharp decline in the number of Caspian seals, while the shoaling of the Caspian Sea is also aggravating the situation. Earlier, at a meeting with young scientists, Hajiyev told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the biodiversity of the Caspian Sea could be completely lost. The head of state emphasized the need for joint research and elaboration of a coordinated plan of the Caspian countries to save the endangered species.
The program to preserve the Caspian seal population, which is being implemented by the Compass Foundation and DSU with the support of the Russian Naftagaz company, will continue its efforts by forming a permanent scientific working group of the Association of Universities and Research Centers of the Caspian countries to work out measures to preserve the Caspian seal. The inclusion of these animals in the national Ecological Wellbeing Project as a rare species is also being considered with the aim of taking priority conservation measures and allocating appropriate funding.