{"id":22157,"date":"2019-04-08T16:27:06","date_gmt":"2019-04-08T16:27:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/04\/08\/did-turkish-naval-exercises-kill-dolphins\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:02:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:02:49","slug":"did-turkish-naval-exercises-kill-dolphins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/04\/08\/did-turkish-naval-exercises-kill-dolphins\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Turkish naval exercises kill dolphins?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ATHENS, Greece \u2014 The Aegean Sea has seen a \u201cvery unusual\u201d spike in dolphin deaths over the past few weeks, a Greek marine conservation group said Monday, adding that the rise could be linked to massive Turkish naval exercises in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fifteen dead dolphins have washed up on the eastern island of Samos and other parts of Greece\u2019s Aegean coastline since late February, according to the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its head of research, Anastassia Miliou<\/a>, told The Associated Press that 15 is a worryingly high number compared to \u201cone or two\u201d in the same period last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group said while it’s still unclear what caused the deaths, the spike follows the Feb. 27-March 8 Turkish “Blue Homeland” exercises \u2014 the country’s largest ever \u2014 that made constant use of sonar and practiced with live ammunition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Members of the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation Institute inspect a dead dolphin on Samos island on March 24. (Anastassia Miliou \/Archipelagos via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The deafening noise of sonar<\/a>, used by warships to detect enemy submarines, can injure dolphins and whales, driving them to surface too fast or beach themselves \u2014 with sometimes fatal consequences \u2014 to escape the din.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We can’t say that the Turkish exercises killed the dolphins, but the fact that we had such an unusual increase in the number washed up dead \u2014 and what we have seen must be a small percentage of the total because the Aegean has a long coastline \u2014 coincided with exercises that used more than 100 ships,” Miliou said. “(The deaths) are very worrying and we can’t say that the two events are unrelated.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After several mass beachings of whales, NATO, to which both Turkey and Greece belong, has adopted a code of conduct for using sonar that is designed to better protect marine mammals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miliou said the alliance’s rules are respected by the U.S. Navy, which has a strong Mediterranean presence, and the Greek navy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There’s a new (military) generation in place that doesn’t want to harm the environment in the name of national sovereignty,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t