Group Of 11 Belugas Released From 'Whale Jail' In Russia's Far East

Eleven belugas from Srednyaya Bay were set free in the Sakhalin Gulf region, while another group is being prepared for release, Press Secretary of the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) Alexey Smorodov told Sputnik

KHABAROVSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd October, 2019) Eleven belugas from Srednyaya Bay were set free in the Sakhalin Gulf region, while another group is being prepared for release, Press Secretary of the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) Alexey Smorodov told Sputnik.

The 11 mammals were transported to the Sakhalin Gulf region on Tuesday evening. About 50 more belugas remain in the Srednyaya Bay awaiting release.

"The sixth stage of releasing marine mammals into their natural habitat has been completed successfully. 11 belugas were released at 11.30 a.m. local time [01:30 GMT]. Just like the previous time, the belugas were transported aboard VNIRO's research vessel to the Sakhalin Gulf region," Smorodov said, adding that scientists were preparing the next group of belugas for release, but the number of animals was not set yet.

The first group of the mammals was released on June 27.

Russia has been in the spotlight over its treatment of marine mammals following a 2018 report by the Greenpeace environmental protection group, which claimed that over 100 endangered orca and beluga whales were being kept in deplorable conditions in a so-called whale jail in Russia's Far East.

After a probe was launched into the claims, a local court eventually ruled that the sea mammals had been caught illegally. As a result, the responsible companies were fined $2.4 million Dollars and the animals were ordered to be immediately released.