The white whales and orcas that are currently being kept in Srednyaya Bay will be released in the Sea of Okhotsk no earlier than in June, said Vyasheslav Bizikov, deputy director of the National Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, after a meeting at the Federal Agency for Fishery. Participants in the meeting reviewed the statements and recommendations from Russian experts, as well as the team led by oceanographic explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau, which examined the white whales and orcas, as well as their living conditions.

“The general recommendation from experts is that the animals need to be released in the same areas as where they were captured. This is the northwestern part of the Sea of Okhotsk. Due to the ice, it will not be possible until June,” Bizikov said.

He also added that Russian experts and Jean-Michel Cousteau’s team of international experts will develop readaptation plans for each animal to be released into the wild.

“The working group on readaptation plans will convene right after the May holidays,” Bizikov said.