The head of Rospotrebnadzor called Anapa's beaches unsuitable for recreation.

The beaches of Anapa and the Temryuk district are still unsuitable for recreation following the fuel oil spill, the head of Rospotrebnadzor stated. She did not rule out that the situation could change by the start of the summer season.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in January, Kuban volunteers received 17 reports of fuel oil spills on the Black Sea coast in Anapa and the Temryuk district. Volunteers reported on the cleanup at all locations.

Recreation on the beaches of Anapa and the Temryuk district is currently prohibited, but the situation may change by the start of the summer season, Rospotrebnadzor head Anna Popova said today at "government hour" in the Federation Council.

"A lot is being done to clean the beautiful white sand beaches in Anapa. While there are results so far, they are not sufficient to reopen the beaches today. However, there is still time before the resort season, and I am confident that the decisions already made will be implemented, and beach recreation will be possible," the report quotes Interfax quoted her as saying.

It is currently impossible to allow children to vacation there.

The oil product content in the beach sand "is so high that it is currently impossible to allow children to vacation there," Popova added.

"The consequences of this emergency are still being addressed today (...) We are doing everything possible to open the beaches as soon as possible (...) but the situation is not as simple as we would like," the agency quotes the official as saying.

As a reminder, 60% fewer tourists visited Anapa in the wake of the fuel oil spill than in 2024, while demand for other resorts in the Krasnodar Territory and Dagestan has increased. From the beginning of the year until September, Anapa was visited by 1.5 million tourists - almost three million fewer than in the same period of 2024.

In August 2025, satellite images showed that the pollution of the Black Sea with fuel oil from the sunken parts of tankers continues. Most of the fuel oil settled to the seabed, including in the areas of Taman, Anapa, and the Bugay Spit, the scientists concluded.

On December 15, 2024, two tankers carrying fuel oil sank in the Kerch Strait. A crew member of one of the tankers died as a result. In addition, an oil spill occurred, leading to catastrophic environmental consequences, according to the Caucasian Knot report "Fuel Oil Spill in the Kerch Strait".

Fuel oil was detected on all beaches in Anapa, on the coast in the Temryuk district, and on the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov in the Slavyansk district of Kuban, according to the Caucasian Knot report "The Extent of Fuel Oil Pollution in Southern Russia".

Materials on the consequences of the fuel oil spill have been collected by the Caucasian Knot on the page "Eco-disaster in Kuban".