The Georgia Aquarium is looking to import 18 beluga whales from Russia, but they were denied permission by the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), starting a legal battle between the aquarium and the agency.
According to the Georgia Aquarium, it is necessary to introduce new members into the captive beluga whale population in the United States because doing so would improve the gene pool's diversity, broaden the research on beluga capabilities and needs, and stabilize the population.
The NOAA Fisheries doesn't deny these benefits but claims that the aquarium's import permit application did not meet requirements set forth by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
The application was filed in 2012 and was denied in 2013. This prompted the Georgia Aquarium to file a lawsuit seeking that the denial be overturned. Both the aquarium and NOAA Fisheries are scheduled to present their oral arguments to the court on Aug. 14. They have requested that a judge come up with a decision on the matter based on the merits of the case, without a trial being held.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act does not allow marine mammal capture by U.S. citizens in any location and in the country's waters. Importations are also prohibited except in certain situations and if the importer meets the terms and conditions of the act.
The Georia Aquarium is interested in importing 18 beluga whales from northern Russia's Sea of Okhotsk that were collected in 2006, 2010 and 2011. At the moment, the whales are staying in the Utrish Marine Mammal Research Station.
If NOAA Fisheries grants the Georgia Aquarium permission to import, some of the beluga whales will be loaned out under breeding programs managed by Sea World, the Mystic Aquarium and Shedd Aquarium.
Today, there are 29 beluga whales living in captivity in the country. Out of this number, around two-thirds were born in captivity. Because the captive population features an uneven distribution of sexes and ages, the introduction of new DNA from new animals will be beneficial to the beluga whales.
One of the reasons cited by NOAA Fisheries as to why the aquarium's application was denied was that five out of the 18 beluga whales were still dependent on their mothers at the time of their capture. The Georgia Aquarium denies this, saying that the young whales were able to eat solid food immediately after being caught, which means they are no longer nursing.
Photo: Mark Doliner | Flickr
