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Powerful winds halt transport of last beluga whales from Srednyaya Bay

Special stretchers are used for each animal, and then they are lifted and reloaded to the enclosure onboard the vessel

VLADIVOSTOK, November 5. /TASS/. Violent winds forced specialists to suspend the loading of the beluga whales remaining in Srednyaya Bay onto vessels in order to transport them to their points of release, the press service of the Pacific Research Institute for Fisheries and Oceanography (TINRO) told TASS on Tuesday.

A meeting of scientists from Russia’s Research Institute for Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) decided on October 24 to free the remaining 50 beluga whales into a bay near the Lazovsky Nature Reserve due to approaching seasonal storms. The loading started on Tuesday morning.

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"At 17:00 local time (10:00 Moscow time), the Professor Kaganovsky research vessel took six beluga whales on board. A pontoon with empty cages cast loose from the vessel. The animals’ loading operation was suspended due to strong winds, which hindered another pontoon with animals from approaching the vessel due to its high windage. The beluga whales might get injured," the press service reported.

They noted that the loading process is very difficult, painstaking and demands a high-level of professionalism and the utmost concentration from all participants. Special stretchers are used for each animal, and then they are lifted and reloaded to the enclosure onboard the vessel.

The orcas and beluga whales’ saga

Ninety beluga whales and 11 orcas caught for sale to China had been kept in the Primorsky Region’s Srednyaya Bay, since the summer of 2018, but later three beluga whales and one orca got lost. According to investigators, during the mammals’ capture, violations were detected and a criminal case on the illegal seizure of bioresources was launched.

In June, the gradual transportation of the marine mammals to the north of the Khabarovsk Region began for their release into the wild in groups. The first group, consisting of two orcas and six beluga whales, was released into the sea on June 27. Three orcas were set free on July 16, and three more animals on August 6. The most recent group of orcas and six beluga whales were let go on August 27. Still, 50 beluga whales are currently being kept in Srednyaya Bay.

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