US courts to decide fate of 18 whales caught in Russia

A US court hearing on the fate of 18 beluga whales captured in Russia is set to pit federal regulators against the Georgia aquarium seeking to bring them to the United States.

US environmental officers have said that moving the whales to the United States would hasten the depletion of the wild beluga whale population and violate the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, which is suing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fisheries service, says that its efforts will help the beluga whales.

Also known as white whales, belugas normally swim in Arctic or sub-Arctic waters and are classified as endangered in some areas and as “near threatened” worldwide, according to the Georgia Aquarium.