An ecologist and founder of the Central Asian Institute of Ecological Research (CAIER) Assel Tasmagambetova stated that over the last 100 years, the Caspian seal population has declined by 90%.
According to Vlast.kz, Tasmagambetova claims that today there are fewer than 100,000 individuals.
"Some experts say that there are about 300,000 of these Red List animals and there is no cause for concern; however, in our view, the number of Caspian seals is declining annually and amounts to less than 100,000 animals", noted Tasmagambetova.
According to her, each of the five states bordering the Caspian Sea has its own method of counting seals, so their exact number remains unknown.
CAIER staff have identified several reasons affecting the death of seals: a drop in sea level, general pollution of the marine environment, animals dying in fishing nets, a reduction in the area of ice due to global warming, outbreaks of infectious and viral diseases, and the depletion of the food supply.
"A significant part of the animal's traditional habitats today is heavily polluted due to the development of oil production in the Caspian Sea area", emphasised Tasmagambetova.
Recall that in the spring of this year, it was reported that dead seals were periodically found on the shore of the Caspian Sea. The first reports of dead animals appeared on 29 March. Then, employees of the fisheries inspectorate of the Mangystau Region discovered 62 carcasses of dead seals in the Tupkaragan District during a monitoring exercise.
On 25 April, in the Tupkaragan District of the Mangystau Region, employees of the fisheries inspectorate found 12 seal carcasses. Later, the fisheries inspectorate of the Mangystau Region reported that from 29 March to 25 April 2024, 182 dead seals were discovered on the shore of the Caspian Sea.
At the end of October, more than 150 dead seals washed up on the shore of the Caspian Sea in the Tupkaragan District. According to local blogger Azamat Sarsenbayev, the incident occurred after storms. It was noted that many of the dead animals had mechanical injuries on their bodies.
Later, specialists from the Department of Ecology of the Mangystau Region reported that they had analysed the water composition on the shore of the Caspian Sea and found no abnormal deviations.
At the beginning of November, scientists discovered 426 dead seals on the coast of the Tupkaragan Peninsula. Research fellow at the "Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology" Assel Baimukanova reported preliminary results of studies on the seals that died in the Caspian Sea.