U.S. approves ’emergency rescue’ plan to import Marineland’s whales and dolphins

U.S. authorities have approved an “emergency rescue” operation to import Canada’s last captive whales and dolphins, a consortium of marine parks said Wednesday. But that rescue effort could still take several weeks to complete.

Last month, Ottawa endorsed a plan to move the remaining 30 belugas and four dolphins from the shuttered Niagara Falls, Ont. Marineland to several aquariums in the United States and one in Canada.

The fate of the marine animals has been in question since the park shut its doors in 2024 following the death of the attraction’s last surviving owner.

The whales are set to go to five marine parks: Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, SeaWorld locations in San Antonio and San Diego and Oceanografic Valencia in Spain.

The U.S. parks are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums who rallied to help Marineland after Ottawa nixed last fall a request for permits to export the whales to an aquarium in China.

The American consortium said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration authorized the emergency rescue this week and that they are still awaiting permits from the Spanish government.

“This collective of aquariums is well positioned for this extraordinary task, thanks to decades of beluga care experience and having collaborated on several successful beluga rescues in the past,” Johnny Ford, a spokesperson for Shedd Aquarium, said in a statement. He spoke on behalf of the U.S. aquariums involved in the proposal.

It is set to be an unprecedented move with the number of whales involved. Marineland has the highest number of captive belugas in the world.

The U.S. aquariums said it will be a “remarkably complex rescue operation.”

“Dedicated care staff from the aquariums will soon arrive and assess their well-being and make preparations for travel,” Ford said. “Once the belugas are cleared for travel by Canadian veterinarians, aquarium experts will accompany the animals to their new homes, where they will be met with diverse seafood to meet their nutritional needs, high-quality environments with guaranteed water quality and onsite medical care should they require it at any time.”

Marineland said it welcomed the U.S. authorization of the relocation.

“We recognize we can no longer provide the long-term care these animals require, and we believe this rescue — led by AZA-accredited aquariums including Shedd Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium, SeaWorld San Antonio, and SeaWorld San Diego — is in the whales’ best interest,” Marineland said in a statement to Global News.

Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) issued the first batch of permits to export the whales and dolphins in early June and will have to sign off on final permits once they check the health of the animals.

“DFO is coordinating with Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA), Health Canada, and other partners across the Government of Canada to ensure all requirements are met for a safe and timely transfer,” a spokesperson for the ministry told Global News.

Ford said the safety of the whales is the top priority and the “rescue effort will take several weeks to mobilize and complete.”

He said an exact timeline can not be given at this point as details surrounding veterinary checks and final permits are still moving forward.

–With files from The Canadian Press