In the Mangystau region, a fish kill was recorded on the coast of the Caspian Sea. On 7 July, specialists from the regional department of ecology travelled to the area of the city of Fort-Shevchenko in the Tupkaragan district to take samples of sea water. The results of the laboratory tests will be announced later.
This new case of mass death of marine life occurs against the backdrop of a serious environmental crisis in the region. This year, dead animals have already been found repeatedly on the Caspian coast: 1 May — the remains of 88 seals, 9 May — dozens of dead seals and birds, and at the end of May in the Fort-Shevchenko area, they discovered 117 dead seals in two days.
Ecologists link the increasing cases of marine life deaths to the catastrophic shallowing of the Caspian Sea. Over the past 18 years, the water level has dropped by two metres, and off the coast of Kazakhstan, the sea has receded from the shoreline by 50 kilometres. If current rates continue, by 2100 the level of the Caspian could drop by 18 metres.
The drop in water level has critically affected the population of Caspian seals, which has declined by 90% over the last century — from 1 million to 70,000 individuals. In 2024 alone, more than 1,200 dead seals were found on the coast. Studies have shown that the cause of their death was a viral neuroinfection.
The main cause of the shallowing is the reduction in the flow of the Volga, which provides 90% of the Caspian's water resources. The construction of numerous dams in Russia for agricultural needs has led to a decrease in the volume of water entering the sea.