This archive report was first published on 10 November 2019.
On November 10, 2019, a Change.org petition calling for the release of the whales collected over 1.5 million signatures, including that of Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio.
The whales, captured to perform in aquariums, sparked international outrage after pictures emerged of them struggling to swim through ice-encrusted waters in cramped enclosures.
Following pressure from the international community, Moscow eventually agreed to release the whales, with the last of the orcas freed in August.
On Sunday, the All-Russian Fisheries and Oceanography Institute announced that the operation to release the last 21 belugas had been completed, with the final group released from two ships.
Russian NGO Sakhalin Watch, which campaigned for the whales' release, expressed delight at the outcome, saying, "The release of all the beluga whales has taken place and the 'whale jail' has finally freed its last prisoners!"
However, many scientists and activists have criticized the Oceanography Institute for keeping the details of the release secret and for freeing the whales in small groups, rather than all at once, which would have boosted their survival odds.
It is worth noting that Russia is the only country that captures wild orcas and belugas to sell to aquariums, a practice made possible by legal loopholes.
Many of the whales held at the facility in Srednyaya Bay were destined for aquariums in China.
