Head of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Ostap Semerak recently announced that plans have been put in place for a 2-year project to conduct an aerial survey of dolphins in the *Black Sea, starting summer 2019.
It is thought that today only three species of marine mammals inhabit the Black Sea; the bottlenose dolphin being the most common species of dolphin in the area, followed by the short-beaked common dolphin and harbour porpoise.
Marine Connection welcomes this news as the exact population number of each species in the area is not known. With little protection in place, there are concerns over the future welfare of marine mammals in the Black Sea as despite there being a law in place banning the capture and live trade of the population of bottlenose dolphins from the Black Sea area there still appears to be an illegal market for these animals. Another concern relates to the number of dolphins and porpoises being killed each year in fishing gear. This is thought to be the most likely cause of cetacean deaths in the Black Sea as since early 2015, there have been more than 300 dolphin and porpoise deaths due to this activity alone.
