11 more beluga whales from Srednyaya Bay released in Russia
On October 18, the sixth stage to carry out the plan of the marine mammals’ release from the Srednyaya Bay to the wild started. The vessel took 11 beluga whales on board.
«On October 23, at 11:30 (4:30 Moscow time) local time the release of 11 beluga whales was completed. Like before, the animals were transported by a vessel to the Sakhalin Gulf to the area of Baydukov and Chkalov Islands and released to the places of their usual habitation. The sixth stage to implement the plan to release the marine mammals to the environment has been successfully completed,» VNIRO said.The animals felt well during the transportation. VNIRO’s experts are currently preparing to carry out the next stage of the release. A total of 37 beluga whales have been released already, and 50 species remain in the Srednyaya Bay.There were 90 beluga whales and 11 orcas caught for sale to China staying in the Srednyaya Bay, Primorsky Region, since the summer of 2018, but later three beluga whales and one orca got lost. According to investigators, the animals had been captured with violations, and a criminal case was launched into the illegal capture of bioresources. In June, the gradual transportation of the animals to the north of the Khabarovsk Region started in order to release them to their natural habitation. The first group, consisting of two orcas and six beluga whales, was released to the sea on June 27.