Russian federal investigators say phytoplankton blooms are root cause of pollution that decimated marine life off Kamchakta’s shoreline

Russian federal investigators say they now believe the pollution of waters off the coast of Kamchatka in Avacha Bay, which has decimated local marine life, is due to natural events, including unusual phytoplankton blooms. This is now the top theory to explain what happened, the Investigative Committee said in a press release on Friday.

The federal government has investigated the environmental damage in Avacha Bay as a felony crime, seeking any culprits responsible for the release of hazardous substances or waste, but officials say they found no oil leaks aboard any of the ships or even naval submarines that recently entered the bay. According to investigators, moreover, the concentrations of oil products and phenols in the water (four times and twice the maximum allowable rates, respectively) aren’t critical and have been observed since 1970.

Investigators also studied samples of sea-floor sediment, water, and soil in Avacha Bay, and found that the pollution could not have come from pesticides buried at the nearby Kozelsky landfill. These samples and analyses of local marine life showed no evidence of heavy metals, and human beings who sought medical attention after exposure to the area’s pollution showed no signs of toxic poisoning.

• On October 12, Russian Academy of Science Vice President Andrey Adrianov announced that the pollution in Avacha Bay could be the result of a natural, however abnormally active, bloom of algae, known as “red tide.”
• The contamination of Avacha Bay has killed an estimated 95 percent of all marine life on the bay’s seabed. Greenpeace has declared the incident an ecological catastrophe. The pollution has also affected Khalaktyrsky Beach, a popular destination for surfers, who were the first to report the widespread deaths of marine life. Surfers also complained that contact with the water caused their eyes to burn and sting.