VLADIVOSTOK, November 5. /TASS/. The release of the beluga whales from the Primorsky Region’s Srednyaya Bay into Uspeniya Bay is an acceptable compromise given the current circumstances, though it poses some risks to the mammals, Greenpeace Russia’s leading expert Oganes Targulyan 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. Plans were initially in place to release them closer to places of their habitation in the Sea of Okhotsk.

"We believe that given the current situation, they should be released into a place where they can be taken without being injured, so Uspeniya Bay seems to be a wise compromise. Their transport to the south of the Sea of Okhotsk means several days of travelling in stormy, cold weather, putting the beluga whales at risk for long periods of contact with cold air, which may cause the onset of pneumonia," Targulyan explained.

He said that the mammals should have been released into the Sea of Okhotsk in August, if the conditions had been ideal. He pointed to North Korean poachers in the area, as the main threat today to the beluga whales in the Primorsky Region.

"The problem is not just that they will capture these beluga whales, but that the garbage left behind by the poachers and their nets in which beluga whales or other mammals may get tangled and injured. It is believed that the conditions in the southern Far East are unsuitable for northern animals, but we have proof that beluga whales were seen in Uspeniya Bay area. Besides, they are warm-blooded mammals and can adapt both to cold and warmer water," the expert said.

The loading of the remaining beluga whales onto vessels started on Tuesday in order to deliver them to Uspeniya Bay for release. Two vessels - the Professor Kaganovsky and the Zodiak - will transport the animals.

Whale of a 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.