Over 700 dolphins may have died in the Black Sea since Russia’s Ukraine invasion, report says

Experts say dolphin strandings are being caused by loud noises of warfare in Ukraine

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put the entire Black Sea basin under a “huge threat,” according to a report that said more than 700 dolphins and porpoises have died in the region since the conflict began.

The report, published recently by ACCOBAMS – or the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Contiguous Atlantic Area – warns that military activity in the area affects marine life forms in the region, including cetaceans such as dolphins and porpoises.

It said over 700 deaths, primarily in dolphins and harbour porpoises, have been recorded on the coasts of countries bordering the Black Sea, including Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine.