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

TORONTO – 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.

The shuttered Niagara Falls, Ont., tourist attraction is up for sale and the park has said it is running out of money to care for its complement of 30 belugas and four dolphins.

Ottawa endorsed last month a plan to move the animals to several facilities in the United States and one in Spain. 

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. In response to that decision from the Canadian government, Marineland made international headlines when it threatened to euthanize all of its belugas if it didn’t receive emergency funds.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration authorized the emergency rescue on July 1 after entering into an agreement with SeaWorld, Georgia Aquarium and the Shedd Aquarium, said Rachel Hager, a spokesperson for the agency.

“The emergency import of these beluga whales to U.S. facilities is necessary to ensure the whales receive medical treatment and care that is not otherwise available,” Hager said in an email.

“Marineland of Canada closed to the public in 2024, and there are no other facilities in Canada that are able to provide the whales husbandry or medical care.”

The U.S. government agency said it has authorized a move of up to 28 belugas. It’s believed two other belugas and four dolphins will head to Spain. 

The American parks consortium said they are still awaiting permits from the Spanish government. 

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.”

“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,” said Johnny Ford, a spokesperson for the Shedd Aquarium and the rest of the consortium.

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. 

“Care teams will arrive in the coming weeks to assess the whales and prepare them for travel, and no whale will move until cleared by Canadian veterinarians.”

Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans 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. 

“This is an encouraging and critical next step for the safe relocation of the whales,” said Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson in a statement.

Thompson said she’ll give a final sign-off once the animals’ health check is complete and the appropriate documentation is submitted.

The U.S. agreement shows 13 belugas will head to SeaWorld in San Antonio, six that originally came from Russian waters and seven that were born at Marineland. They are a mix of male and female whales.

Three male belugas born at Marineland will head to SeaWorld in San Diego while another two males born at the park will head to the Georgia Aquarium.

And 10 belugas, eight females from Russian waters along with two males born at Marineland, will be shipped off to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. 

The whales and dolphins will likely be moved in the next few months.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2026.