Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Water use · Caspian Sea (Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan) · 2020–2025

Caspian seal mass deaths, 2020–2025

Nature's voice · report
My population declined by more than 70% in the 20th century, mainly from hunting, according to IUCN; IUCN listed me as Endangered in 2008.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record. Disputed
Recorded
  • In December 2020 about 2,515 (± 443) of my seals died on the Dagestan coast, most of them adult females and most of those pregnant, according to a peer-reviewed estimate. Rozhnov V.V., Bizikov V.A., Magomedov M.-R.D. et al.
  • In December 2022 the Dagestan ministry counted about 2,500 of my seals dead by 5 December; tissue changes showed oxygen starvation. Interfax
  • In 2024 1,989 of my seals were counted dead on the Mangystau coast by 20 November, more than half of the females pregnant, according to Kazakhstan's Ministry of Ecology. Azattyq Ruhy
  • In October–December 2025 566 of my seals were counted dead in Russia, 183 in Kazakhstan, 36 in Iran and 10 in Azerbaijan. Kaspika
  • At least 1,215 of my seals were caught as bycatch in the 2008–2009 season in an interview sample, 93% of them in sturgeon fisheries the study's authors called illegal, according to a 2013 study. Dmitrieva L. et al.
What the record lacks: 4 none on record · 4 not disclosed · 2 insufficient · 10 disputed · 3 unclear See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Cause of the mass deaths
  • Government and regulators Rosprirodnadzor and the Dagestan Ministry of Natural Resources (2022, 2025): Asphyxia from a natural gas release; natural environmental factors. Interfax
  • Researchers VNIRO / IEE RAS paper (Trudy VNIRO 2022), for December 2020: Acute asphyxia from a local natural gas release was the most likely cause; infection, helminths, intoxication, bycatch and an underwater shock wave were excluded. Rozhnov V.V., Bizikov V.A., Magomedov M.-R.D. et al.
  • Government and regulators Rosrybolovstvo deputy head Vasily Sokolov (June 2021): About 90% died of asphyxia from seabed gas and about 10% were killed by poachers. Kommersant
  • Government and regulators Alexander Kozlov, Russian Minister of Natural Resources (May 2021): Main version was illegal fishing, in particular kilka on migration routes. Current Time
  • Government and regulators Kazakhstan Ministry of Ecology (2022): Virus-associated acute pneumonia after mixed influenza and morbillivirus infection, with immunotoxic pollutants making the animals more susceptible. Bizmedia.kz
  • Researchers Aidyn Kydyrmanov, Research Center of Microbiology and Virology (2024): Viral neuroinfection found in brain and lung tissue: "There was a virus in all the samples". Kazinform
  • Government and regulators Kazakhstan Fisheries Committee (2024–2025): A natural phenomenon such as gas released from the seabed after underwater earthquakes; the fisheries inspection also named poaching nets. Orda.kz
  • Researchers Kazakhstan Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology (2025): Weakened immunity and reduced resistance; chronic organ pathologies linked to poor habitat. Lada.kz
  • Communities and civil society Turkmen oceanologists, unnamed, via Radio Azatlyk (December 2023): Ecological damage, emissions from oil and gas enterprises, regular naval exercises and more coastal factories. Times of Central Asia (citing Radio Azatlyk)
  • Government and regulators Turkmenistan Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection: Did not comment (2021). Novastan (citing Radio Azatlyk)
Whether infection was present
  • Government and regulators Federal Animal Health Center, Russia (December 2025): Tested for 21 diseases; all negative. Kaspika
  • Government and regulators Kazakhstan Ministry of Ecology (November 2024): First samples negative for pasteurellosis, cholera and plague; water tests showed no abnormal deviations. Azattyq Ruhy
  • Researchers Research Center of Microbiology and Virology, Kazakhstan (January 2025): Molecular-genetic analysis found a viral neuroinfection in brain and lung tissue. Kazinform
Number of seals dead in Dagestan in December 2020
  • Government and regulators Rosrybolovstvo Dagestan department (6–10 December 2020): 272 counted. TASS
  • Researchers IEE RAS expedition (22 December 2020): Over 300 carcasses on about 30 km, extrapolated to about 2,000 for the 160 km coast. Kaspika (Caspian Seal Conservation Agency, IEE RAS)
  • Researchers Rozhnov, Bizikov, Magomedov et al., Trudy VNIRO 2022: 2,515 ± 443 estimated from 313 carcasses on 12 sites of 49.2 km. Rozhnov V.V., Bizikov V.A., Magomedov M.-R.D. et al.
  • Government and regulators Rosprirodnadzor (2022): Described 2020 as about 2,000 in Dagestan and Azerbaijan. Interfax
Size of the Caspian seal population
  • Researchers VNIRO / KAAE survey funded by NCOC (winter 2022): Lower limit about 311,381 animals vs 260,000 in 2012. Kaspika
  • Press and investigations RFE/RL (2024): About 70,000. RFE/RL
  • Press and investigations Current Time (2021): About 60,000. Current Time
The 2000 die-off
  • Press and investigations Orda (2024): About 10,000 died; cause chronic toxicosis. Orda.kz
  • Press and investigations Novastan (2021): A viral infection killed more than 10,000. Novastan (citing Radio Azatlyk)
Whether military activity is linked to the die-offs
  • Press and investigations Radio Svoboda / Kavkaz.Realii (2025): The situation worsened after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when the Caspian became a missile-launch site and training ground; scientists recorded autumn mass deaths for the first time after that. No official body has confirmed a link. Radio Svoboda / Kavkaz.Realii
  • Communities and civil society Turkmen oceanologists, via Radio Azatlyk (2023): Named regular naval exercises among the causes. Times of Central Asia (citing Radio Azatlyk)
  • Government and regulators Dagestan ministry (December 2025): A sad but annual natural phenomenon across the whole Caspian. Radio Svoboda / Kavkaz.Realii

Repeated mass strandings of the Endangered Caspian seal were recorded in Dagestan (Russia), Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan between 2020 and 2025. Official explanations differ by country and year, and NCOC, operator of Kazakhstan's Kashagan field, funded seal research programmes.

2,515 ± 443 estimateDead Caspian seals, Dagestan coast, December 2020 (scientific estimate)
Estimate. 313 carcasses counted on 12 sites covering 49.2 km (12.27 ± 2.16 per km), reported in Trudy VNIRO 2022.

Status As of January 2026: mass strandings continued in October–December 2025 (Russia 566, Kazakhstan 183, Iran 36, Azerbaijan 10; no official count for Turkmenistan), causes remained contested, and no fine, claim or ruling had been reported.

What?
Mass strandings of the Endangered Caspian seal were recorded in Dagestan (2020, 2021, 2022, 2025), Kazakhstan (2022, 2024, 2025), Turkmenistan (2020–21, 2023, 2025), Azerbaijan and Iran (2025). Official causes differ by country and year; NCOC funded much of the seal research, and no fine or compensation is on record. Kaspika
Where?
Dagestan coast (Terek mouth to Derbent, about 205 km); Tupkaragan peninsula and Kulaly Island, Mangystau region, Kazakhstan; Turkmen coast near Turkmenbashi and the Cheleken peninsula; Khachmaz, Azerbaijan; Gilan and Mazandaran, Iran. Kaspika
When?
December 2020 (Dagestan); December 2020 – February 2021 (Turkmenistan); May 2021; November–December 2022; December 2023; 24 October – 20 November 2024; October–December 2025. Kaspika
Who?
Gained
  • Research institutions funded by NCOC (VNIRO, IEE RAS, KAAE) — Funding for seal abundance, reproduction and impact monitoring programmes 2019–2024; amounts not disclosed Kaspika
  • Sellers of seal skins (claim by Tariel Eybatov as reported) — A pelt sells for up to USD 2,000 Rossiyskaya Gazeta
Lost
  • NCOC N.V. — Funded the December 2020 Dagestan expedition and a five-year seal research programme; amounts not disclosed inbusiness.kz
Harmed
  • Caspian seals, Dagestan, December 2020 — 2,515 ± 443 dead (estimate), mostly pregnant adult females Rozhnov V.V., Bizikov V.A., Magomedov M.-R.D. et al.
  • Caspian seals, Dagestan, December 2022 — About 2,500 dead by 5 December (ministry count) Interfax
  • Caspian seals, Mangystau, 2024 — 1,989 carcasses by 20 November 2024 Azattyq Ruhy
  • Caspian seals, October–December 2025 — Russia 566, Kazakhstan 183, Iran 36, Azerbaijan 10 Kaspika
Why?
Causes stated in the sources include asphyxia from a natural gas release, virus-associated pneumonia with immunotoxic pollutants, viral neuroinfection, poaching nets and trawls, and, per Turkmen oceanologists, oil and gas emissions and naval exercises; the official explanation differs by country and year. Interfax
How?
Carcasses were counted and sampled by Rosrybolovstvo, IEE RAS, VNIRO, Russian and Kazakh ministries and institutes. NCOC funded expeditions and research programmes. Kazakhstan's damage rate is 193 MRP per seal; the damage estimate for 2024 is an expert's calculation. Bizmedia.kz
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Dagestan, November–December 2020. Dagestan's Rosrybolovstvo department counted 272 dead seals on 6–10 December 2020. An expedition of the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IEE RAS) found over 300 carcasses on about 30 km of coast and extrapolated about 2,000 for the 160 km Dagestan coastline. A peer-reviewed paper (Rozhnov, Bizikov, Magomedov et al., Trudy VNIRO 2022) counted 313 carcasses on 12 sites totalling 49.2 km and estimated 2,515 ± 443 dead seals in December 2020, mostly adult females, mostly pregnant. The paper excluded infection, helminths, intoxication, bycatch and an underwater shock wave, and named acute asphyxia from a local natural gas release as the most likely cause. Hundreds of seals and thousands of fish were also reported dead near Turkmenbashi on the Turkmen coast between December 2020 and February 2021 (Radio Azatlyk, via Novastan).

Dagestan, May 2021. About 170 dead seals, all young animals, were reported in early May (Current Time); Rossiyskaya Gazeta put the number at about 200, some without skins, and gave trawls as the ministry's main version for that group. Russia's Minister of Natural Resources named illegal fishing as the main version. In June 2021 Rosrybolovstvo deputy head Vasily Sokolov said about 90% of the seals found in recent months had died of asphyxia from seabed gas and about 10% had been killed by poachers.

Kazakhstan, November 2022, and Dagestan, December 2022. A count of 172 dead seals in Tupkaragan district, Kazakhstan, was followed by the Ministry of Ecology's explanation of virus-associated acute pneumonia after mixed influenza and morbillivirus infection, with immunotoxic pollutants making the animals more susceptible. A separate event in Dagestan: 650–700 carcasses on 3 December 2022 between the Neftebaza and the Sulak mouth, then about 2,500 by 5 December according to the Dagestan Ministry of Natural Resources, over 320 km of coast surveyed. This December 2022 count is the ministry's; the December 2020 figure of 2,515 ± 443 is a scientific estimate for a different event.

2023–2025. Dozens of dead seals were reported on the Turkmen coast in December 2023 (Radio Azatlyk). In Mangystau, Kazakhstan, 27 dead seals were reported in April 2024, 289 in five days to 29 October 2024, 1,034 from 24 October to 13 November and 1,989 by 20 November 2024. Kazakhstan's Ministry of Ecology said in November 2024 that it was too early for conclusions; the Research Center of Microbiology and Virology reported a viral neuroinfection in brain and lung tissue. In October–December 2025 the counts were Russia 566 (484 on 2 December rising to 566 by 19 December), Kazakhstan 183, Iran 36 and Azerbaijan 10; no official count was available for Turkmenistan.

Money and accountability. NCOC N.V., operator of Kazakhstan's Kashagan field, funded the December 2020 IEE RAS expedition together with the Kazakhstan Agency of Applied Ecology, a five-year Caspian seal study programme with Kazakh and Russian institutes, and the 2022 scientific justification for a seal reserve; no amounts were disclosed. Kazakhstan's damage rate is 193 MRP per seal, KZT 712,556 (Ministry of Agriculture order, 2017); expert Adilbek Kozybakov estimated damage from about 2,000 dead seals in 2024 at more than KZT 1.42 billion. No fine, damage claim or court ruling on the seal deaths was reported in Kazakhstan, and results of Russia's criminal cases opened in December 2020 were not made public.

  1. 2008IUCN lists the Caspian seal as Endangered
  2. 2020Added to Russia's Red Data Book (March); Dagestan strandings, 272 counted 6–10 December, 2,515 ± 443 estimated for December
  3. 2021Hundreds of dead seals reported on the Turkmen coast (December 2020 – February 2021); 170 more young seals in Dagestan (early May); Rosrybolovstvo says about 10% were killed by poachers (June)
  4. 2022172 dead seals in Tupkaragan, Kazakhstan (November); Dagestan ministry reports about 2,500 by 5 December
  5. 2023Dozens of dead seals on the Turkmen coast (December)
  6. 2024Mangystau: 1,989 carcasses between 24 October and 20 November; viral neuroinfection reported (January 2025)
  7. 2025Russia 566, Kazakhstan 183, Iran 36, Azerbaijan 10 in October–December; Kazakhstan police open a pre-trial investigation (November)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“The key theories of the Caspian seals' death are related to natural factors.”

Vyacheslav Bizikov, deputy director of VNIRO · December 2020 · TASS

“The data received by now is not sufficient to form a hypothesis.”

“outrageous situation; the population of rare animals is under threat”

Alexander Kozlov, Russian Minister of Natural Resources (translated) · May 2021 · translated from Russian · Current Time

“this is pure poaching”

Vasily Sokolov, Rosrybolovstvo deputy head, on seals with signs of sturgeon gear or skinned (translated) · June 2021 · translated from Russian · Kommersant

“We have video showing seals getting tangled in nets”

Zaur Gapizov, Caspian Environmental Protection Center (translated) · 2021 · translated from Russian · Rossiyskaya Gazeta

“will provide foundational information”

NCOC, on the seal research programme it funds (translated) · March 2021 · translated from Russian · inbusiness.kz

“very high rates of seal mortality in fishing gear set for sturgeon poaching”

Simon Goodman, University of Leeds, IUCN pinniped group · December 2021 · IUCN

“We don't yet see environmental contamination in the form of heavy fractions in the water”

Svetlana Radionova, head of Rosprirodnadzor (translated) · 5 December 2022 · translated from Russian · Interfax

“Some say it's the consequences of pollution”

Yerlan Nyssanbayev, Kazakhstan Minister of Ecology (translated) · 27 November 2024 · translated from Russian · Azattyq Ruhy

“Some say there were underwater earthquakes and a release of natural gas”

Yerlan Nyssanbayev, Kazakhstan Minister of Ecology (translated) · 27 November 2024 · translated from Russian · Azattyq Ruhy

“There was a virus in all the samples”

Aidyn Kydyrmanov, Research Center of Microbiology and Virology · January 2025 · Kazinform

“a sad but annual natural phenomenon across the whole Caspian”

“our superiors require us to stay silent”

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Cause of the mass deaths
Government and regulators
Rosprirodnadzor and the Dagestan Ministry of Natural Resources (2022, 2025)

Asphyxia from a natural gas release; natural environmental factors.

Interfax
Researchers
VNIRO / IEE RAS paper (Trudy VNIRO 2022), for December 2020

Acute asphyxia from a local natural gas release was the most likely cause; infection, helminths, intoxication, bycatch and an underwater shock wave were excluded.

Rozhnov V.V., Bizikov V.A., Magomedov M.-R.D. et al.
Government and regulators
Rosrybolovstvo deputy head Vasily Sokolov (June 2021)

About 90% died of asphyxia from seabed gas and about 10% were killed by poachers.

Kommersant
Government and regulators
Alexander Kozlov, Russian Minister of Natural Resources (May 2021)

Main version was illegal fishing, in particular kilka on migration routes.

Current Time
Government and regulators
Kazakhstan Ministry of Ecology (2022)

Virus-associated acute pneumonia after mixed influenza and morbillivirus infection, with immunotoxic pollutants making the animals more susceptible.

Bizmedia.kz
Researchers
Aidyn Kydyrmanov, Research Center of Microbiology and Virology (2024)

Viral neuroinfection found in brain and lung tissue: "There was a virus in all the samples".

Kazinform
Government and regulators
Kazakhstan Fisheries Committee (2024–2025)

A natural phenomenon such as gas released from the seabed after underwater earthquakes; the fisheries inspection also named poaching nets.

Orda.kz
Researchers
Kazakhstan Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology (2025)

Weakened immunity and reduced resistance; chronic organ pathologies linked to poor habitat.

Lada.kz
Communities and civil society
Turkmen oceanologists, unnamed, via Radio Azatlyk (December 2023)

Ecological damage, emissions from oil and gas enterprises, regular naval exercises and more coastal factories.

Times of Central Asia (citing Radio Azatlyk)
Government and regulators
Turkmenistan Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection

Did not comment (2021).

Novastan (citing Radio Azatlyk)
Whether infection was present
Government and regulators
Federal Animal Health Center, Russia (December 2025)

Tested for 21 diseases; all negative.

Kaspika
Government and regulators
Kazakhstan Ministry of Ecology (November 2024)

First samples negative for pasteurellosis, cholera and plague; water tests showed no abnormal deviations.

Azattyq Ruhy
Researchers
Research Center of Microbiology and Virology, Kazakhstan (January 2025)

Molecular-genetic analysis found a viral neuroinfection in brain and lung tissue.

Kazinform
Number of seals dead in Dagestan in December 2020
Government and regulators
Rosrybolovstvo Dagestan department (6–10 December 2020)

272 counted.

TASS
Researchers
IEE RAS expedition (22 December 2020)

Over 300 carcasses on about 30 km, extrapolated to about 2,000 for the 160 km coast.

Kaspika (Caspian Seal Conservation Agency, IEE RAS)
Researchers
Rozhnov, Bizikov, Magomedov et al., Trudy VNIRO 2022

2,515 ± 443 estimated from 313 carcasses on 12 sites of 49.2 km.

Rozhnov V.V., Bizikov V.A., Magomedov M.-R.D. et al.
Government and regulators
Rosprirodnadzor (2022)

Described 2020 as about 2,000 in Dagestan and Azerbaijan.

Interfax
Size of the Caspian seal population
Researchers
VNIRO / KAAE survey funded by NCOC (winter 2022)

Lower limit about 311,381 animals vs 260,000 in 2012.

Kaspika
Press and investigations
RFE/RL (2024)

About 70,000.

RFE/RL
Press and investigations
Current Time (2021)

About 60,000.

Current Time
The 2000 die-off
Press and investigations
Orda (2024)

About 10,000 died; cause chronic toxicosis.

Orda.kz
Press and investigations
Novastan (2021)

A viral infection killed more than 10,000.

Novastan (citing Radio Azatlyk)
Whether military activity is linked to the die-offs
Press and investigations
Radio Svoboda / Kavkaz.Realii (2025)

The situation worsened after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when the Caspian became a missile-launch site and training ground; scientists recorded autumn mass deaths for the first time after that. No official body has confirmed a link.

Radio Svoboda / Kavkaz.Realii
Communities and civil society
Turkmen oceanologists, via Radio Azatlyk (2023)

Named regular naval exercises among the causes.

Times of Central Asia (citing Radio Azatlyk)
Government and regulators
Dagestan ministry (December 2025)

A sad but annual natural phenomenon across the whole Caspian.

Radio Svoboda / Kavkaz.Realii

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • Natural environmental factors were presented as the main version for the December 2022 deaths in Dagestan.
    Dagestan Ministry of Natural Resources · Radio Svoboda
  • The 2025 die-off was described as a sad but annual natural phenomenon across the whole Caspian.
    Dagestan ministry · Radio Svoboda / Kavkaz.Realii
  • Seabed gas release after underwater earthquakes was named as a natural phenomenon behind the 2024–2025 deaths in Kazakhstan.
    Kazakhstan Fisheries Committee · Orda.kz
  • Seal research was presented as funded and commissioned by NCOC, with reports published in 2025.
    Kaspika, reporting NCOC-commissioned reports · Kaspika

Recorded

  • Dagestan, December 2020: Rosrybolovstvo department count 272 (6–10 December); IEE RAS over 300 carcasses on about 30 km; peer-reviewed estimate 2,515 ± 443.
  • Dagestan, December 2022: 650–700 carcasses on 3 December, about 2,500 by 5 December (Dagestan Ministry of Natural Resources count).
  • Kazakhstan, 2024: 289 carcasses in five days to 29 October; 1,034 from 24 October to 13 November; 1,989 by 20 November.
  • Kazakhstan damage rate: 193 MRP per seal, KZT 712,556 (Ministry of Agriculture order, 2017). Expert Adilbek Kozybakov's calculation for about 2,000 dead seals (2024): more than KZT 1.42 billion (headline about KZT 1.5 billion).
  • Russia, December 2020: criminal cases opened by Rosrybolovstvo and Dagestan's Interior Ministry; results not reported publicly.
  • Russia: Rospotrebnadzor found systematic discharge of sewage from Makhachkala's sewer system into the Caspian; the city administration did not contest this in court.
  • Azerbaijani scientist Tariel Eybatov claimed 10–15 thousand seals are killed a year and a pelt sells for up to USD 2,000.
  • Radio Svoboda/Kavkaz.Realii wrote in 2025 that the situation worsened after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when the Caspian became a missile-launch site and training ground, and that scientists recorded autumn mass deaths for the first time after that; no official body has confirmed a link.
  • No NCOC funding amount is disclosed for its seal research programmes.

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
Kazakhstan damage rate per seal (Ministry of Agriculture order, 2017): 193 MRP0.71m
Window: 2017
KZT 712,556 per seal.
Expert estimate of damage from about 2,000 dead seals estimate> 1.4bn
Window: 2024
Calculation by Adilbek Kozybakov (member of the Ministry of Ecology's public council); headline figure about KZT 1.5 billion. No claim or fine was reported.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
NCOC funding of Caspian seal research programmes—
Window: 2019–2024
Amounts not disclosed.
Currency: KZT · Window: Mixed — see each line. Figures cover different periods and are not compared as a ratio. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • NCOC N.V. (March 2021): The seal research programme it funds "will provide foundational information" (translated). · inbusiness.kz
  • Rosprirodnadzor (5 December 2022): Suffocation from a gas release was "for now the main version"; scientists were "not recording any acute poisoning" (translated). · Interfax
  • Dagestan Ministry of Natural Resources (December 2022): Natural environmental factors were the main version; tests reportedly found no bacteria, viruses, heavy metals or pesticides. · Radio Svoboda
  • Kazakhstan Ministry of Ecology (2022–2024): Virus-associated acute pneumonia with immunotoxic pollutants (2022); first 2024 samples negative for pasteurellosis, cholera and plague; too early for conclusions (November 2024). · Bizmedia.kz
  • Turkmenistan Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection (February 2021): Did not comment. · Novastan (citing Radio Azatlyk)

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

  1. 2020–Outcome not on record
    Criminal cases over the December 2020 seal deaths in Dagestan
    Russian criminal investigation (Rosrybolovstvo; Dagestan Interior Ministry) · Criminal · Rosrybolovstvo; Dagestan Ministry of Internal Affairs → Not named

    Criminal cases were opened in December 2020; Current Time reported in May 2021 that the results of the investigations were not publicly reported and that the cause of death was not named. Article number and charges were not given. Current Time

  2. 2021–Ongoing
    Pre-investigation checks into the May 2021 seal deaths in Dagestan
    Investigative Committee (Dagestan) and prosecutor's office · Administrative · Investigative Committee; prosecutor's office → Not named

    Checks were opened in May 2021; materials were sent to the environmental prosecutor and Rosprirodnadzor. Rossiyskaya Gazeta

  3. Outcome not on record
    Rospotrebnadzor finding on Makhachkala sewage discharge
    Rospotrebnadzor; court proceedings not described · Administrative · Rospotrebnadzor → Makhachkala city administration

    Rospotrebnadzor found systematic discharge of sewage from Makhachkala's sewer system into the Caspian; the city administration did not contest this in court. No case number was given. Radio Svoboda / Kavkaz.Realii

  4. 2025–Ongoing
    Pre-trial investigation into seal deaths, Tupkaragan district
    Tupkaragan district police, Kazakhstan · Criminal · Tupkaragan district police → Not named

    Police registered the deaths and opened a pre-trial investigation in November 2025. The outcome was not reported. Orda.kz

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Dagestan, December 2020
2,515 ± 443
Scientific estimate of dead seals (Trudy VNIRO 2022)
Dagestan, December 2022
about 2,500
Dagestan ministry count by 5 December 2022
Mangystau, 2024
1,989
Carcasses counted by 20 November 2024
Damage rate per seal
KZT 712,556
Kazakhstan Ministry of Agriculture order, 2017

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

Nature

  • Disputed Cause of the mass deaths
  • Disputed Whether infection was present
  • Disputed Number of seals dead in Dagestan in December 2020
  • Disputed Size of the Caspian seal population
  • Disputed The 2000 die-off
  • Disputed Whether military activity is linked to the die-offs

Money

  • Not disclosed NCOC funding of Caspian seal research programmes — Amounts not disclosed.

Court

  • Unclear Criminal cases over the December 2020 seal deaths in Dagestan: outcome not on record.
  • Unclear Rospotrebnadzor finding on Makhachkala sewage discharge: outcome not on record.

Accounts

  • None on record Turkmenistan Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection: Did not comment (2021).

Record

  • Disputed Disputed: the cause of the mass deaths; official explanations differ by country and year (see disputes).
  • Unclear Disputed: the number of seals that died in Dagestan in December 2020 (272, over 300, about 2,000 or 2,515 ± 443, depending on method and source).
  • Disputed Figures differ: Caspian seal population, 311,381 (lower limit, winter 2022, NCOC-funded survey) vs about 70,000 (RFE/RL, 2024) vs about 60,000 (Current Time, 2021).
  • Disputed Figures differ: the 2000 die-off, "about 10,000 died, cause chronic toxicosis" (Orda, 2024) vs "viral infection killed more than 10,000" (Novastan, 2021).
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: NCOC funding amounts for its seal research programmes (Kaspika 2025; inbusiness.kz 2021).
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: Kazakhstan's 2025 programme-targeted funding for the Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology (Lada.kz, November 2025).
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: official data on the number of stranded animals in Turkmenistan (Kaspika 2026); the ministry did not comment in 2021 and no study results were published in 2023.
  • None on record None on record: the outcome of Russia's criminal cases opened in December 2020; results were not publicly reported and the cause of death was not named (Current Time, 2021).
  • None on record None on record: a cause for the 2016 Dagestan die-off of about 300 animals (VNIRO via TASS).
  • None on record None on record: any claim, fine or compensation for the 2024 deaths in Kazakhstan; the damage figure is an expert's calculation (Bizmedia.kz, 24 November 2024).
  • Insufficient Insufficient: Kazakhstan's Ministry of Ecology said in November 2024 that it was too early for conclusions, and final results were expected after 3–4 months (Orda, 14 November 2024).
  • Insufficient Insufficient: the bycatch study's authors judged fleet-wide extrapolation "inappropriate" for lack of data on total fishing effort (PLoS ONE, 2013).
  • Disputed Unclear: whether the draft government decree on a State Nature Reserve for the Caspian seal in Mangystau and Atyrau (109,558.04 ha) was adopted; reports differ on its funding source.

Did the harm stop?

No limit or measure ended the die-offs; mass strandings were recorded in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Who paid?

The seals. NCOC funded research on them with undisclosed amounts; no fine, damage claim or compensation for the seal deaths is on record.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society✓ Researchers✓ International bodies

Press and investigations

  1. Dagestan seal deaths, May 2021
    Current Time · 2021-05-15
  2. 484 dead seals found on Dagestan coast
    Caucasian Knot · 2025-12-03
  3. Hundreds of lifeless Caspian seals washed ashore in Turkmenistan
    Novastan (citing Radio Azatlyk) · 2021-03-17
  4. Mass Die-Out of Seals on the Turkmen Coast of the Caspian Sea
    Times of Central Asia (citing Radio Azatlyk) · 2023-12

Communities and civil society

  1. IPEE RAS expedition returned from Dagestan
    Kaspika (Caspian Seal Conservation Agency, IEE RAS) · 2020-12-22

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.

Institutions

IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and its global list assessing species' risk of extinction.

Science and environment

Hectare (ha)
A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.