Ecological Disaster Plagues Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula

Marine wildlife have washed up on the shore of the Kamchatka Peninsula coast. (Wikimedia Commons)

Hundreds of marine animals washed up on Russia’s Pacific coast in the Kamchatka region on October 3 and 4, images of which quickly went viral. Over the following weeks, 95 percent of the marine life on the coast died in what locals are calling an “eco-disaster.” The cause of the incident is still unknown.

Authorities discovered the situation after swimmers in the popular tourist destination began to report illnesses such as “blurred vision, dry and painful eyes and a sore throat” after going into the water. 

Days later, as animals began to wash up on the shores. A surfer reported, “The water doesn't smell like the ocean, it's sticky, bitter and dirty. Fish are dead on the shore.” 

Scientists have several theories that could explain the cause of the disaster. Initially, local authorities cited a leak from an oil tanker as the reason for the mass deaths. Environmentalists also explored the possibility of pesticide contamination from a nearby Soviet-era chemical facility. Other local scientists proposed that a volcano-related earthquake bears the blame.

The most recent hypothesis, which is backed by leading Russian marine biologists, points to a lethal algal bloom. Overgrowth of natural algae causes harmful algal blooms that produce toxins that can be harmful to animals and people. The algae is so abundant that photos of the foam can be seen from space. 

Climate change factors into the overgrowth of algae, and harmful algal blooms are becoming increasingly common and increasingly toxic. Last year, an algae bloom killed hundreds of marine animals in Florida. 

Increased issues with pollution and climate change have caused Russians to express more concern about the environment.  Russians have been frustrated in the past with the lack of transparency and efficiency of Russian authorities in dealing with environmental issues. In 2018, the Presidential Human Rights Council’s poll found that respondents thought that environmental safety was their right most often violated by authorities. 

At first, Kamchatka's Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology declared the deaths a non-incident, insisting that beaches were still safe for tourists. Since then, scientists and environmentalists have increased the pressure on local authorities to find the cause of the issue. The government has now launched an official investigation.

“We have to admit that the investigation is happening quite transparently, which in my view for Russia is very rare,” said Katya Dyba, who works at a local surf school. “I think our work in making a big fuss about it played a big role.”

Increased transparency, or lack thereof, will play a large role in Russia’s growing environmental concerns, and environmental organizations like Greenpeace will be monitoring whether Russia lives up to the task. Oil spills, Arctic wildfires, heat waves, and fuel leaks have all plagued the country in 2020.