Monday 29 April 2019

More dolphins die in Aegean Sea; group suspects navy drills


APRIL 8, 2019
by Nicholas Paphitis
The Aegean Sea has seen a "very unusual" spike in dolphin deaths over the past few weeks, a Greek marine conservation group said Monday, adding that the rise could be linked to massive Turkish naval exercises in the area.
Fifteen dead dolphins have washed up on the eastern island of Samos and other parts of Greece's Aegean coastline since late February, according to the Archipelagos Institute.
Its head of research, Anastassia Miliou, told The Associated Press that 15 is a worryingly high number compared to "one or two" in the same period last year.
The group said while it's still unclear what caused the deaths, the spike follows the Feb. 27-March 8 Turkish "Blue Homeland" exercises—the country's largest ever—that made constant use of sonar and practiced with live ammunition.
The deafening noise of sonar, used by warships to detect enemy submarines, can injure dolphins and whales, driving them to surface too fast or beach themselves—with sometimes fatal consequences—to escape the din.


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