The International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute is one of the lead organizations coordinating global efforts on behalf of Russian whales and dolphins. We helped to return the Whale Jail whales of Russia to the ocean and are now working to permanently ban such wild captures of whales and dolphins in Russian waters.
Bad news for beluga whales, dolphins and some orcas in Russian waters: A Russian government panel has rejected a proposal, prepared by Russian conservationists and endorsed by more than 100,000 Russian citizens, to ban the captures of live cetaceans in Russian waters for captivity.
In 2018, four companies caught 87 beluga whales and 10 orcas, destined to be sold to aquariums in China. Russian conservationists challenged the export, and the whales languished in the notorious Whale Museum for months. Finally, thanks to the combined efforts of Russian conservationists, the International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute, and other international scientists and organizations, the Russian government agreed to release the whales back into the ocean. Our Russian colleagues and IMMP have been following up, after the releases in Fall 2019, to end captures in the wild of all cetaceans in Russia.
The government has not decided on whether to pursue a ban, but the decision by the panel has undermined efforts to establish a ban on captures.
With the huge global publicity around the shoddy treatment of ten orcas and 87 beluga whales in the notorious “Whale Jail“ on Russia’s east coast, we had hoped the government would agree to end the practice of capturing live orcas, beluga whales, and dolphins for a lifetime of suffering in small tanks.
Following the release of the Whale Jail whales into the ocean (the 97 whales had been slated for sale to Chinese aquariums), Russian conservationists were successful in December 2019 in obtaining 100,000 signatures from the public (a first for an animal issue in Russia) urging the Russian government to permanently ban cetacean captures for scientific and educational purposes.
During the Whale Jail debate in Russia, several prominent Russian government members spoke out against the captivity of cetaceans, including, according to conservationists, the Russian Minister of Natural Resources, D. Kobylkin, the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology and Environmental Protection, V. Burmatov, and the special representative of the President for environmental protection, S. Ivanov.
The government’s “scientific” panel (that recommends against the ban) does not include any marine mammal experts, and largely echoes the captivity industry’s false claims that keeping cetaceans in captivity is valuable for public education and scientific research. There is little gain to science for keeping these animals in captivity, as their artificial environment is so different from the real ocean, and making these animals put on shows for the public is largely devoid of any educational benefit.
The decision demonstrates the clout involved in the captivity industry in Moscow, which makes millions of dollars from sales of captive orcas and beluga whales to aquariums around the world. Russia is currently the only country in the world that allows captures of live orcas and beluga whales, which are highly prized performers in captivity. When they die, the aquariums can simply acquire new ones.
The good news remains that Russia is still protecting the transient orca population in the Sea of Okhotsk and surrounding areas. Due to the fragility of the population, they have been added to the Russian endangered species list and may not be captured. However, this protection does not extend to resident orcas.
The International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute is strategizing and preparing to help our Russian colleagues achieve protection for Russia’s whales and dolphins. Stand by for future news.