Dear All, Apologies for cross posting. In the last two months, there have been mass mortality of cetaceans on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria and Turkey. Most of them are newborn or juvenile harbour porpoises, body length less than 70cm and usually at an advanced stage of decomposition. A similar phenomenon was observed last years but this year stranding rate (actually July) was at the highest (7.2ind./km) on the western Black Sea coast of Turkey, where we found more than 150 individuals (97% harbour porpoise, 91% neonate) on a 22 km coast. In June the stranding rate was also high but not too much as to call it mass stranding (1 ind./km). In 2003 and 2009 unusual mass mortality (Tonay et al. 2012) and high neonate mortality was reported presumably as a secondary effect of bottom gillnet turbot fishery in summers (Öztürk et al. 2012). Because of the death of lactating and nursing mothers in turbot nets, neonates might starve to death and get stranded ashore in this season. But this year and last year's events seem different. We are working to understand the reason for this mortality. Does anybody have any experience similar, with many newborn or juveniles dead (almost no adult animals)? There can be various scenarios, such as disease, acoustic trauma, biotoxins, bycatch, suppression of immune system due to chemical pollution. Please send us directly your comments or your observation of these strandings: Ayaka Amaha Ozturk (ayakamaha@gmail.com) and Arda M. Tonay (tonay@istanbul.edu.tr). Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TUDAV) www.tudav.org References: Öztürk A.A., Tonay M.A., Raykov V., Dede A. 2012. High mortality of harbour porpoise neonates in the southwestern Black Sea in 2010 and 2011. 26th Annual Conf. European Cetacean Society, Galway, 90p. Tonay, A.M., Dede, A., Öztürk, A.A., Ercan, D., Fernández, A. 2012. Unusual mass mortality of cetaceans on the coast of the Turkish Western Black Sea in summer 2009. J. Black Sea/Mediterr. Environ. 18:65-75 Arda M. TONAY Ph.D Faculty of Fisheries, İstanbul University Marine Biology Dep. Ordu Cad. No:200 Laleli, 34480 İstanbul, Turkey Tel: +90 212 455 5700/16459 Fax: +90 212 514 0379 atonay@istanbul.edu.tr http://suurunleri.istanbul.edu.tr/ Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TUDAV) P.O. Box 10 Beykoz, İstanbul, Turkey Tel: +90 216 424 0772 Fax: +90 216 424 0771