On a mission to save whales
In November 2019, WorldOpt Director Michael Bailey led a high-seas expedition aimed at documenting and advocating for the release of 97 whales - 10 orcas and 87 belugas - held in captivity within Russia. This mission received invaluable support from leaders of the "Free Russian Whales" organization, a pioneering conservation movement dedicated to liberating these majestic creatures and highlighting the ethical issues surrounding their captivity.
When they can’t swim they die
News outlets, conservation organizations and international agencies came to know the facility in Srednyaya Bay on Russia’s eastern coast as the “Notorious Russian Whale Jail.”
The crude, makeshift pens exposed the whales to brutal sub-zero temperatures, causing large frostbite cracks and open wounds on the delicate skin of the orcas and belugas. These creatures, enduring unimaginable suffering, urgently need our help to prevent further captivity and abuse.
The ‘Notorious Russian Whale Jail‘ in Srednyaya Bay, north of Vladivostok, held over 10 orcas and 87 beluga whales who survived for over a year in these small overcrowded sea pens.
Why they were captured?
The whales were originally destined for theme parks and shopping centers in China
The whales held in the Russian Whale Jail were destined for lucrative markets, with orcas fetching up to $5 million each and belugas selling for thousands of dollars.
These intelligent creatures were bound for theme parks and shopping centers in China, where they would face lives of forced performances and severe stress in barren tanks.
Thanks to the efforts of activists like Michael Bailey, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Charles Vinick, and Leonardo DiCaprio their fate took a turn towards freedom.
Experienced observers noted that even with such official publicized support in Russia, the $100 million advance deposit paid to Russian wildlife smugglers by Chinese investors was sufficient to encourage laws and rules to be violated and manipulated. It was recognized that on-site presence of observers was needed to monitor and enforce the release of all the whales.
Upon locating and securing an 80 foot (25 meter) rusting former Polish tuna boat, Michael Bailey consolidated a team of 8 individuals that included Greenpeace Moscow campaigner Ogannes Targulyan, two aerial drone photographers, an official Russian government news agency TASS reporter, and several Russian wildlife conservationists.
On board their somewhat antiquated ‘tuna boat’ expedition team members used aerial drones to monitor and photograph two Russian research ships. The ship decks hosted some 60 beluga whales who had been placed in ‘stretcher‘ slings for release back into the ocean. During the preceding three months some 30 of the orca and beluga whales had been released by being trucked north to where they had originally been captured.
Aerial drones were used by the team to observe and count the whales being released. The ‘fishing vessel Mariya’, also joined the monitoring and enforcement effort.
- After 3 days Michael and team cruised away from the scene, with photos and images in hand documenting the whales’ release.
- The glowing feeling of ‘a job well-done’ was enjoyed during the following spring and summer when beluga whales were spotted along the coastline in areas where none had been seen previously. A number of the orca whales were tracked for several months after their release.
- Overall the ‘Free Russian Whales’ campaign and expedition was viewed as a remarkable success and an international achievement.
The story began a year earlier, during September of 2018, when the marine mammals were captured during a mass round-up in Russia’s Sea of Okhotsk, 800 miles (1100 km) north of Vladivostok. Russian environmental attorney Dmitri Lysitsin and his law team engaged court actions. These revealed that over 100 million dollars had been paid in advance to the Russian whale smugglers by owners of theme parks, aquariums and real estate developments in China. The purpose was to secure the high-value whales for public display, entertainment and financial investment purposes.
With his law office located on Sakhalin Island north of Vladivostok, Dmitry Lysitsin is an honored recipient of the coveted ‘Goldman Environmental Prize’, gained by longstanding advocacy work on behalf of nature conservation in Russia. Dmitry Lisitsyn provided Michael Bailey with legal counsel and advice about ways to navigate the tricky and unpredictable law enforcement system of Russia’s far east.
While Sea World parks in the U.S. face closures and declining public support due to growing awareness of animal welfare concerns, marine parks are rapidly opening across China, positioning captive marine life as family entertainment. These new facilities, often located within shopping malls and urban centers, continue to fuel demand for captive whales and dolphins, perpetuating the cycle of exploitation. As public sentiment shifts against marine mammal captivity in one part of the world, it’s expanding at an alarming rate in another, highlighting the urgent need for global advocacy.
As of 2021, China housed approximately 1,082 cetaceans - including whales and dolphins - across 85 facilities, with an additional 34 parks under construction. This marked an 80% increase in just five years. The rapid expansion of marine parks in China has driven the capture of wild cetaceans, particularly from Russian waters. Between 2012 and 2018, at least 29 orcas were captured in Russian waters, with 15 exported to China (Whales.org). While specific future capture numbers are uncertain, the continued growth of marine parks in China suggests that the demand for captive cetaceans may persist, potentially leading to further captures unless conservation efforts and public awareness initiatives effectively curb this trend.
Social media messages and images, such as this graphic of a beluga whale in a cage, significantly helped muster support to free the whales.
