Hvaldimir will be moved to Jarfjorden in Finnmark – news Troms and Finnmark

The organization One Whale has been given the green light by the Directorate of Fisheries to move Hvaldimir to Finnmark. Today, the world-famous white whale swims around Western Norway. Most recently this week, it had close contact with Jonathan Ree (17) and Sondre Hettarvikgard (16), when they were swimming at night at Skjoldastraumen in Tysvær. In the past, One Whale and the animal rights organization Noah have been refused to move the popular whale to Svalbard. Regina Crosby Haug in One Whale is behind the initiative to move Hvaldimir to Finnmark. Photo: Unclear Getting help from the USA The whale will now be transported to Jarfjorden in Sør-Varanger. How and when this will happen is still unclear. According to the approval, the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research has assessed the various methods proposed: ship, truck and plane. All of these are justifiable, the institute believes. – How the relocation of Hvaldimir will take place is currently uncertain and is being assessed by our experts, says founder of One Whale, Regina Crosby Haug. It is far from the one Hvaldimir swims in today and the fjord he will be moved to in Finnmark. According to the application to One Whale, the aim is for Hvaldimir to be integrated with other white whales. Marine researcher Audun Rikardsen says it could be an advantage to get Hvaldimir north, but he is unsure whether he will team up with random beluga whales that drop by from time to time. – My impression is that Hvaldimir is more connected to people than to other whales. Rikardsen believes Hvaldimir will target people and farms again. In the past, he has been critical of moving Hvaldimir to Svalbard, or of caging the whale in a fjord. But elaborates that it is not necessarily a bad idea to transport the beluga north. According to the application, the people who will assist in the operation have extensive experience in moving large marine mammals over large distances. Among other things, two whale trainers in the US Navy will assist. news is aware that next week there will be an inspection in Jarfjorden to survey the conditions. Crosby Haug says she has been in contact with Russians who have worked with Russian military whales, and who claim that these are transport methods that Hvaldimir is already familiar with. People have made pilgrimages to the places where Hvaldimir has stayed. Photo: Kristian Sønvisen Bye/news World celebrity Hvaldimir appeared on the coast of Finnmark in 2019, when it sought out fishing boats at Ingøy. The whale had harnesses tightened around it. The fishermen therefore launched an operation to free the whale, which has probably been trained by the Russian defense forces. Hvaldimir then visited the coastal communities in Finnmark and demonstrated, among other things, tricks for the villagers. The whale quickly became an international celebrity and received enormous attention. Media all over the world wrote about it. In recent years, Hvaldimir has been swimming around in southern Norway, but various animal organizations have worked to get it transported away from people and north. Published 27/07/2024, at 13.26



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