Dead dolphins have been washed ashore along the Black Sea coast over the past two days. The cases were reported in Varna and Burgas, and the regional environmental inspectorates in both cities have been notified. According to experts, there is no evidence of violent death.
Upon reaching the shoreline today, May 4, our team also came across another dead dolphin. A marine biology and ecology expert accompanying the team explained that it was an adult specimen, although it is difficult to determine the exact cause of death.
Assoc. Prof. Violin Raykov, Institute of Oceanology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences: “The species is the so-called harbour porpoise, or common porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), and they are quite closely associated with coastal areas and bay zones, with a smaller range of movement compared to the other two species – the common dolphin and the bottlenose dolphin.”
An alert was immediately submitted to the environmental inspectorate in Varna. Experts note that there are many possible reasons why the sea may wash dead dolphins ashore.
Even as we set foot on the seashore today, our team came across another dead dolphin. The marine biology and ecology expert who accompanied us explained that it was an adult, but it was difficult to say what the cause of death was.
Assoc. Prof. Violin Raykov, Institute of Oceanology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences: “We can start with natural mortality, viral diseases, infections of the middle ear. These infections cannot be controlled and the animals do not have natural immunity. If there are signs of violent death, then an autopsy or more specialised tests, including histological analyses, can be carried out to determine the cause of death.”
The bodies of two dead dolphins were also found washed ashore a few days ago on the beach at Sunny Beach, according to a viewer who reported seeing them during a walk there on Saturday.
Assoc. Prof. Violin Raykov, Institute of Oceanology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences: “There are marine currents that can carry these animals hundreds of kilometres. So the fact that we find them here does not necessarily mean they died here.”
Our team in Burgas submitted a signal to the regional environmental inspectorate today and visited the site, but no dolphin carcasses were found. It is currently unclear who cleared the beach.
Upon reaching the shoreline today, our team also encountered another dead dolphin. The accompanying marine biology and ecology expert explained that it was an adult specimen, but it is difficult to determine the exact cause of death.
Assoc. Prof. Violin Raykov, Institute of Oceanology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences: “The species is the so-called harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). They are closely linked to coastal and bay areas, with a smaller range of movement compared to the other two species – the common dolphin and the bottlenose dolphin.”
A report was immediately submitted to the environmental inspectorate in Varna. Experts emphasise that there are many possible reasons why the sea may wash dead dolphins ashore.
Assoc. Prof. Violin Raykov, Institute of Oceanology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences: “We can start with natural mortality, viral diseases, infections of the middle ear. These infections cannot be controlled and the animals have no natural immunity. If there are signs of violent death, then an autopsy or more specialised examinations, such as histological analyses, can be carried out to determine the cause of death.”
Bodies of two dead dolphins washed ashore a few days ago were also reported on the beach at Sunny Beach. This was signalled by a viewer who was walking there on Saturday.
Assoc. Prof. Violin Raykov, Institute of Oceanology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences: “There are marine currents that carry these animals hundreds of kilometres. So the fact that we find them here does not necessarily mean they died here.”
Our team in Burgas submitted a report to the regional environmental inspectorate today and visited the site, but no dead dolphin bodies were found. However, it is currently unclear who cleared the beach.
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