Nearly all seafloor-dwelling life in pollution-hit waters off Russia’s Pacific coast in the Kamchatka region has been wiped out in an unexplained mass death of marine animals, scientists told the region’s governor Tuesday.
Images showing hundreds of dead octopuses, large fish, sea urchins and crabs washed up on the shore of Khalaktyrsky beach went viral over the weekend as environmentalists sounded the alarm over an ecological disaster. Kamchatka governor Vladimir Solodov said that authorities were considering manmade pollution, natural phenomena or a volcano-related earthquake as possible causes of the mass deaths.
As much as 95% of marine life along the seabed in Avacha Bay has been killed, scientists told Solodov Tuesday following an expedition to the area to collect water samples, search for dead wildlife and carry out a survey dive.
“On the shore, we also did not find any large dead sea animals or birds,” scientist Ivan Usatov said at the meeting. “However, when diving, we found that there is a mass death of benthos [bottom-dwelling organisms] at depths from 10 to 15 meters — 95% are dead. Some large fish, shrimps and crabs have survived, but in very small numbers.”
95% of Marine Life on Sea Floor Killed in Kamchatka Eco-Disaster, Scientists Say
Images showing hundreds of dead octopuses, large fish, sea urchins and crabs washed up on the shore of Khalaktyrsky beach went viral over the weekend as environmentalists sounded the alarm over an ecological disaster. Kamchatka governor Vladimir Solodov said that authorities were considering manmade pollution, natural phenomena or a volcano-related earthquake as possible causes of the mass deaths.
As much as 95% of marine life along the seabed in Avacha Bay has been killed, scientists told Solodov Tuesday following an expedition to the area to collect water samples, search for dead wildlife and carry out a survey dive.
“On the shore, we also did not find any large dead sea animals or birds,” scientist Ivan Usatov said at the meeting. “However, when diving, we found that there is a mass death of benthos [bottom-dwelling organisms] at depths from 10 to 15 meters — 95% are dead. Some large fish, shrimps and crabs have survived, but in very small numbers.”
95% of Marine Life on Sea Floor Killed in Kamchatka Eco-Disaster, Scientists Say
