TEHRAN The head of the Center for Fish Cultivation Research and Studies in the coastal city of Trava in Kazakhstan said that over 250,000 tons of Kilka fish has been destroyed in the Caspian Sea during the current year.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Polia Kim regretted that the above amount is equal to the annual catch of this fish by the five Caspian Sea littoral states.

As regards the reasons for the above incident, she said that a special kind of sea weed uses the food of Kilka fish.

Experts predict that if this sea weed spreads at its present rate, the sturgeon in the Caspian Sea will also die out in the next two years, since sturgeon mostly feeds on Kilka fish.

Meanwhile, a senior official with the provincial Department of the Environment (DOE) has warned of the possible extinction of seals in the northern Caspian Sea.

"We should take seriously the risk of extinction to Caspian seals and work out plans to halt this trend," Mahmoud Farajpour told IRNA Tuesday.

"The seals will be brought to the brink of extinction if the pollution keeps rising," he said.

"Chemical and oil pollutants, as well as fishing nets are among the most significant causes behind the extinction of the seals," he said, noting, "These seals are the only Caspian Sea mammals and are dexterous swimmers quite effective in establishing ecological balance in the sea."

He referred to over 30 cases of seal deaths observed on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea in the past Iranian calendar year which ended March 20.