The last group of beluga whales from the “whale jail” in Russia have been returned to the ocean. The notorious sea pens that housed 10 orcas and 87 beluga whales who had been captured for sale to marine parks in China are now closed.
On November 10th, the Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) reported that they carried out the release of 31 beluga whales into the Bay of Uspeniya Lazovsky in the Primorsky Krai district in accordance with the instructions of President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government.
Here are three short videos from the Russian TV service Ruptly. The first two show the whales being transported in floating sea pens from the facility at Srednyaya Bay to one of the ships that would take them to the release area. The third video shows them being lowered into the Bay of Uspeniya Lazovsky, where they swim away.
The rescue and release of 97 captive whales is a remarkable and historic achievement in which many people played a key role, including:
- The Russian activists who brought the plight of these whales to the world’s attention and maintained steady pressure for their release;
- The expert members of the international team assembled by the Whale Sanctuary Project to assess the health of the whales in their sea pens and recommend protocols for their release;
- The Russian scientists whose expertise was critically important to the releases;
- Our Executive Director Charles Vinick, who steered our whole Whale Aid Russia operation, and Jean-Michel Cousteau, who opened doors to the highest levels of the government;
- And the generous supporters of the Whale Sanctuary Project, without whom none of this would have been possible. Thank you so much.
Here are some photos of the transport and release, courtesy of the Russian institute VNIRO:
The beluga whales are transported via a floating sea pen from the whale jail to the vessel “Professor Kaganovsky.”
The Whale Sanctuary Project’s involvement began in January 2019 with a letter to President Putin offering our help and expertise for the purpose of returning the whales to the ocean. In early April, the Russian government invited our international team to Moscow with a view to our visiting the whales, assessing their condition, and offering recommendations for their safe rehabilitation, transport and release.
On April 8th, in Vladivostok, Governor Oleg Kozhemyako of Primorsky Region sat down with Charles Vinick and Jean-Michel Cousteau to sign an historic agreement stating the Russian government’s commitment to releasing all the whales.
And on June 20th, during his annual televised phone-in with the Russian people, President Putin announced that the first transport had begun. Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Gordeyev added that the government would change the law in order to ban hunting whales for “educational and cultural purposes,” a loophole that has been used to capture whales for sale to marine entertainment parks in China.
Today, because of the care and concern of people all over the world, these whales are now back home in the ocean, where they belong.
Thank you for making it possible.
Note: The full story of our Whale Aid Russia program is told here.