Beluga whales leave closed Marineland for U.S. aquariums

Six beluga whales left Marineland on July 20, beginning the first phase of a closely watched relocation that will move 30 whales out of the closed Niagara Falls, Ontario, marine park. The animals are headed to U.S. aquariums, with two others expected to go to Spain, after months of uncertainty over the future of the captive herd.

The transfer carries rare federal and cross-border oversight. Canada’s fisheries minister, Joanne Thompson, gave conditional approval on Jan. 26 for Marineland to export the belugas, and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service approved an emergency import plan for up to 28 whales. A NOAA letter dated June 25 was addressed to SeaWorld executive Christopher Dold, Shedd Aquarium president and CEO Bridget Coughlin, and Georgia Aquarium president and CEO Travis Burke, underscoring how tightly the move has been coordinated.

The receiving facilities named in the plan include Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and SeaWorld San Antonio. The animals are not being moved by ordinary truck transport. The whales must swim onto a stretcher, be lifted into a travel tank, then be trucked and airlifted to their new homes, a process that reflects the scale of the animals and the medical care needed to move them safely.

Marineland has remained closed to the public since 2024 while the belugas stayed on site, and the park has faced intense scrutiny over what would happen if export permits were not granted. World Animal Protection said Marineland had threatened euthanasia if approval did not come through. Some reporting also said the park had sought to send the whales to China before that plan was rejected.

The stakes are high because this is not the first time Marineland has had to rehome belugas, but it is among the largest and most complicated transfers yet. In 2019, the park sent five belugas to Mystic Aquarium after legal challenges and approval hurdles on both sides of the border. This latest move is bigger, involving 30 whales, multiple receiving institutions and emergency federal authorization, all while critics continue to question whether large marine mammals can thrive after years in captivity or whether relocation only manages a deeper problem left by shuttered marine parks.