The Norwegian fisherman and the 'Russian spy whale'
In 2019 Joar Hesten freed a beluga whale from a harness labelled ‘Equipment St Petersburg’ – the whale, found dead this week, was rumoured to have escaped the Russian navy.
In September 2024 a beluga whale suspected of having been trained as a spy by Russia was found dead off the coast of Norway. It was the sad conclusion to a story Outlook first broadcast in 2021.
In 2019, Norwegian fisherman Joar Hesten was fishing for cod in the Arctic when he came across the white whale wearing a harness. He freed the mysterious beluga from the straps, and then saw the harness was labelled ‘Equipment St Petersburg’. Theories started swirling that this whale had escaped the Russian military, which has a history of training marine mammals. Joar embarked on a mission to relocate the whale, called Hvaldimir, to an area with other belugas in the hope that it could integrate into a pod and live in the wild.
The quest has cost Joar emotionally and financially. And, as Joar had previously worked as a whaler for a short time, he says his relationship with Hvaldimir has made him question the practice.
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(Photo: Joar with Hvaldimir. Credit: Aleksander Nordahl, DN/D2)
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