Over 300 Dead Caspian Seals Found on Kazakhstan's Coast Since April 17

ASTANA, May 13. /TASS/. The number of dead seals found on the Caspian Sea coast in Kazakhstan has risen to 300, Daniyar Akimzhanov, director of the Mangistau regional branch of the Republican Association of Fisheries and Aquaculture Qazaq Balyk, said. "There are areas that cannot be reached by car. I rode around on a motorcycle myself, inspecting the territory and counting the carcasses. Over the past two days, 37 [dead] seals were found. Today we have received information about 20 more carcasses found on the coast in the Tokmak area of the Karakiyansky district. In total, about 300 dead seals have been found since April 17," he said as quoted by the Kazinform news agency. Meanwhile, the environmentalist stated that "the real number of dead seals is much higher than 300." He said the mass deaths of the animals are primarily caused by changes to the ecosystem. Reports of such cases are promptly transferred to the relevant authorities and local administration in accordance with a special procedure, after which efforts are organized to dispose of the carcasses, Akimzhanov added. In the fall of 2025, seals, which are listed in Kazakhstan’s Red Book of threatened species, as well as gulls were repeatedly found dead on the Kazakh coast of the Caspian Sea. In November 2025, the Fisheries Committee told TASS that infectious diseases had likely killed the animals. Cases of seal deaths have also been recorded on the Russian coast of the Caspian Sea. The Caspian seal is an endemic species found only in the Caspian Sea. Its presence indicates that the state of the marine ecosystem is optimal.