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May 21, 2026, 9:31 a.m.
Thousands of crayfish died on the coast of Odesa National Park due to oil pollution
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Oil pollution on the coast. PHOTO: Ivan Rusev/Facebook
On the Black Sea coast within the national park, ecologists have recorded vegetable oil pollution, which has already led to the death of tens of thousands of marine life. The most affected are hermit crayfish, the natural "orderlies" of the sea, whose massive deaths can disrupt the coastal ecosystem.
This was reported by ecologist Ivan Rusev.
During the survey of the Black Sea coastal zone, environmentalists found traces of vegetable oil not only in the water area but also directly on the coast. According to him, the most affected are hermit crayfish, which play a critical role in the marine ecosystem.
According to preliminary estimates, tens of thousands of hermit crayfish could have died within the coastal area of the national park due to pollution. Tritium mesh shells along with hermit crayfish were washed ashore by coastal diogenes covered with a layer of oil.
Environmentalists have also recorded numerous cases of damage to other aquatic life. Due to a drop in oxygen levels in the water and chemical stress, marine organisms began to move en masse to shallow water or hide under shellfish above the water line. The expert called this a direct indication of a serious hydrochemical problem in the ecosystem.
According to Ivan Rusev, hermit crayfish play an extremely important role in the Black Sea. They clean the bottom of organic residues, eat dead algae, dead fish and shellfish, and loosen the bottom layer of sand and mud, improving oxygen access in the bottom waters. The massive death of these organisms could have serious consequences for the ecological balance of the coast.
At the end of April, inspectors discovered a 400-by-200-meter oil slick in the Black Sea, which was caused by a Russian drone hitting a tank in the port of Chornomorsk.
At that time, the area of pollution in the northwestern part of the Black Sea increased rapidly overnight, from tens to hundreds of square kilometers. Satellite images showed that the slick had expanded dramatically and moved towards the coast of Odesa, towards Ochakiv and the Dnipro-Bug estuary.
