Monitoring of Caspian seals on Kulaly Island

At the end of April 2026, Qazaq Balyk Republican Association of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology conducted monitoring of the coastal zone on Kulaly Island, located in the northeastern Caspian Sea, Kazakhastan.

‘We walked several kilometers along the western coast at the northern tip of Kulaly, found 37 dead seals in a five- to six-kilometer stretch. Biological samples for laboratory testing were collected from seven animals,’ said Daniyar Akimzhanov, the Director of Qazaq Balyk, who organised this expedition. ‘Two small vessels and a boat from Regional Coast Guard, Border Service of Kazakhstan National Security Committee, were used to conduct our monitoring. A film crew from Television and Radio Broadcasting Complex of President arrived from Astana to joined us.’

A dead white-coat Caspian seal pup, Kulaly Island, Tyulen’i Islands archipelago, April 2026. Credited by D. Akimzhanov.

D. Akimzhanov thanked Regional Coast Guard Directorate for their technical support and expressed confidence that the conducted research would help in assessing the environmental situation in the Caspian Sea and be continued in the future.

In the top photo: Expedition members on Kulaly Island, the northeastern Caspian, Kazakhstan. Credited by D. Akimzhanov, Qazaq Balyk Republican Association of Fisheries and Aquaculture.