"Our entire food chain within the gulf of Mexico is affected, there's no denying that."
Mon, 09 May 2011 
Mangystaum, Kazakhstan -- Some 12-15 dead seals have washed up over the past week on the western Kazakh shore of the Caspian Sea, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.
Erik Utebaliev, a local resident, told RFE/RL he found 10-12 dead Caspian seals of all ages, from full-grown adults to pups, on May 3 and three more on May 8.
Kirill Osin, director of the nongovernmental organization EKO Mangistau, told RFE/RL he and his colleagues planned to inspect the seals on May 10 and take tissue samples for analysis to try to determine whether they were poisoned.
He said he had only seen photos of the dead animals and it was too early to speculate about the cause of death.
Osin recalled that the local authorities attributed a mass death of seals in the region two years ago to a virus and inclement weather.
He rejected that conclusion, noting that dead seals are found only in the vicinity of intensive exploitation of offshore oil deposits.
Erik Utebaliev, a local resident, told RFE/RL he found 10-12 dead Caspian seals of all ages, from full-grown adults to pups, on May 3 and three more on May 8.
Kirill Osin, director of the nongovernmental organization EKO Mangistau, told RFE/RL he and his colleagues planned to inspect the seals on May 10 and take tissue samples for analysis to try to determine whether they were poisoned.
He said he had only seen photos of the dead animals and it was too early to speculate about the cause of death.
Osin recalled that the local authorities attributed a mass death of seals in the region two years ago to a virus and inclement weather.
He rejected that conclusion, noting that dead seals are found only in the vicinity of intensive exploitation of offshore oil deposits.