12.06.2026, 13:52
Rosprirodnadzor has authorized a whale rescue operation in the Barents Sea
Source: OREANDA-NEWS
OREANDA-NEWS Rosprirodnadzor has issued permission to conduct an operation to untangle a humpback whale, which has been observed off Kildin Island in the Barents Sea since June 5, the press service of Murmansk Arctic University (MAU) told Interfax.
"On the night of June 11, additional information was received about the whale's condition. Experts have clarified the geometry of entanglement, the nature and depth of damage. According to experts, the entanglement is complicated, there are severe cuts to the soft tissues of the mammal," Anton Yurmanov, head of the rescue operation and Vice Rector for Research and Innovation at UIA, was quoted as saying at the university.
The Vice-Rector stressed that Tatiana Efremova, the head of the "Whales of Teriberki" civil science project, and Ivan Yakovlev, a volunteer and underwater camera operator, participated in the data collection and analysis.
In addition, the Teriba recreation center joined the operation and provided the whale rescuers with a boat.
The UIA press service noted that on the night of June 12, certified marine animal rescue specialists from the Friends of the Ocean organization will arrive in the Murmansk Region from Sakhalin. The next day, they will begin the practical part of the operation.
The governor of the Murmansk region, Andrey Chibis, in turn, said that the operation to rescue the whale is under the special control of the regional government.
"We would like to express our special gratitude to the Border Department of the Federal Security Service of Russia for the Western Arctic region. Colleagues reacted to the situation with lightning speed, and a decision was made to directly involve management specialists in the rescue operation. In addition, colleagues will create a safe zone for the animal, which involves limiting the entry of vessels into the area of the operation, and colleagues have joined in conducting explanatory work with citizens on the shore about the rules of whale watching," Chibis said.
As reported, for the first time a confused and injured whale was spotted in the area of the Rybachy Peninsula on June 5. According to preliminary data, this is an adult animal with a rope around its body, which severely cut the skin, in some places - up to subcutaneous fat.
With reference to the head of the expedition, a researcher at the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IPEE) Natalia Kryukov, PhD, was informed by the Russian Academy of Sciences that "the whale has normal fatness, which indicates that it has become confused relatively recently."
Earlier, in June 2024, 60 km from the village of Teriberka, for the first time in Russia, an operation took place in the Barents Sea to free a humpback whale, later named Stanislav, from fishing nets. The head of the Rosprirodnadzor of the Russian Federation, Svetlana Radionova, also monitored the progress of the rescue operation.
Experts from the Sakhalin Friends of the Ocean group and marine mammal specialist Anastasia Kunitsa were directly involved in the rescue of the whale.
"On the night of June 11, additional information was received about the whale's condition. Experts have clarified the geometry of entanglement, the nature and depth of damage. According to experts, the entanglement is complicated, there are severe cuts to the soft tissues of the mammal," Anton Yurmanov, head of the rescue operation and Vice Rector for Research and Innovation at UIA, was quoted as saying at the university.
The Vice-Rector stressed that Tatiana Efremova, the head of the "Whales of Teriberki" civil science project, and Ivan Yakovlev, a volunteer and underwater camera operator, participated in the data collection and analysis.
In addition, the Teriba recreation center joined the operation and provided the whale rescuers with a boat.
The UIA press service noted that on the night of June 12, certified marine animal rescue specialists from the Friends of the Ocean organization will arrive in the Murmansk Region from Sakhalin. The next day, they will begin the practical part of the operation.
The governor of the Murmansk region, Andrey Chibis, in turn, said that the operation to rescue the whale is under the special control of the regional government.
"We would like to express our special gratitude to the Border Department of the Federal Security Service of Russia for the Western Arctic region. Colleagues reacted to the situation with lightning speed, and a decision was made to directly involve management specialists in the rescue operation. In addition, colleagues will create a safe zone for the animal, which involves limiting the entry of vessels into the area of the operation, and colleagues have joined in conducting explanatory work with citizens on the shore about the rules of whale watching," Chibis said.
As reported, for the first time a confused and injured whale was spotted in the area of the Rybachy Peninsula on June 5. According to preliminary data, this is an adult animal with a rope around its body, which severely cut the skin, in some places - up to subcutaneous fat.
With reference to the head of the expedition, a researcher at the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IPEE) Natalia Kryukov, PhD, was informed by the Russian Academy of Sciences that "the whale has normal fatness, which indicates that it has become confused relatively recently."
Earlier, in June 2024, 60 km from the village of Teriberka, for the first time in Russia, an operation took place in the Barents Sea to free a humpback whale, later named Stanislav, from fishing nets. The head of the Rosprirodnadzor of the Russian Federation, Svetlana Radionova, also monitored the progress of the rescue operation.
Experts from the Sakhalin Friends of the Ocean group and marine mammal specialist Anastasia Kunitsa were directly involved in the rescue of the whale.
Комментарии