Whale Jail

By: Kelsey Loenhorst, UHM MOP Student

It is hard to imagine 100 whales in the same place at the same time, let alone stuffed into pens the size of a backyard pool. Prosecutors are investigating a site which has been dubbed, “whale jail” by media. The whales are being held in pens in Russia near the city of Nakhodka, where they await suspected sale to Chinese theme parks according to local media reports. Reports and photos show that the company has captured 11 orca whales (Orcinus orca) and 90 belugas (Delphinapterus leucas), all crammed into collective pens with armed guards monitoring the perimeter.

Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. Photo by: Bob, Flickr.

So why is Russia caging so many of these animals? They make a fortune on the black market. An individual orca whale can sell for up to $6 million to Chinese dolphinariums. However not all of it is illegal--in Russia they do have certain laws allowing for whale capture. The law only applies to whale capture if for scientific, educational, or cultural purposes. But in this case, for commercial purposes, it is strictly outlawed. The report claims the virtually unregulated activity of four companies controls the market for capturing and exporting marine animals, with some of the whales having been kept in crowded confinements since July.

Many drone and helicopter shots of the closely-knit quarters have been trending on social media sparking the attention of many activists. Greenpeace Russia explains that given the size of the tanks, many of the whales must be calves. The capture of whale calves is forbidden under Russian law even for scientific or educational reasons. Greenpeace went on to describe the pens as “torture,” and warned that capturing whales in these numbers threatens the animal’s population in the long term.

Project leader at Greenpeace Russia, Oganes Targulyan, stated he understands that the law permits the capture of 13 whales per year yet, “no one is taking into account that at least one orca is killed for every one that is caught.”

Killer whales are currently on the U.S Endangered Species List; environmentalists are concerned if they continue to be captured at this rate, we may lose the species forever.

FEBRUARY 2019 |17