56 dead dolphins in a month: Scientists warn Black Sea ecosystem is at breaking point

Scientists recorded 56 dead dolphins along the Black Sea coast near the Tuzly Lagoons National Nature Park during June 2026, blaming their deaths on sea mine explosions and the effects of Russian attacks.

Source: Tuzly Lagoons National Nature Park

Details: Researchers at the park said the north-western part of the Black Sea has been particularly affected since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion and that the environmental pressure has now reached a critical level.

"The Black Sea ecosystem is on the verge of collapse. Constant deadly military activity – mine explosions, bombing, missile launches and the use of powerful sonar systems, as well as enormous volumes of chemical pollutants, including the consequences of the Kakhovka disaster – is systematically destroying the sea's unique biodiversity," the park's scientists said.

They estimate that around 100,000 Black Sea cetaceans of three species have died in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

During the past month alone, 56 dead dolphins were found along the coast near the Tuzly Lagoons. In addition, shell-shocked cetaceans were discovered near Odesa.

The researchers said the crisis is multifaceted, with the animals facing several threats simultaneously. Each factor compounds the others, leading to increased mortality and undermining the viability, immunity and genetic resilience of Black Sea cetacean populations.

"If the civilised world does not stop the aggressor, the Black Sea risks losing forever its greatest inhabitants – creatures that have symbolised its wild nature for thousands of years," the scientists warned.

Background: Earlier in June, specialists recorded a single-day record of 22 dead cetaceans washed ashore on the Black Sea coast.

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