A special kind of Russian ‘spy’ worries the authorities of a European country

The Norwegian Fisheries Directorate issued the directive on Wednesday because the “tame” whale approached local boats and suffered minor injuries.

Keep a safe distance

“So far there have been only minor incidents where the whale has been slightly injured by contact with the boats,” fisheries director Frank Back-Jensen said in a statement.

“We especially encourage people in the boat to keep a safe distance to avoid injuring or at worst killing the whale from boat traffic,” Buck-Jensen added.

When was the ‘spy’ whale first seen?

This beluga, known for following boats and a protected species in Norway, was first seen off the Barents Sea in April 2019.

The whale was seen skirting the Norwegian coasts and staying “at fish farms it was able to enter, with the aim of catching fish and benefiting from the surplus food”, according to the management.

Doubts about spy missions

The latest photos show the whale wearing a belt that anglers say appears to have mounts for a GoPro camera.

This whale has sparked many theories, including one that the whale escaped from a Russian naval base in the Murmansk region and was “trained to spy” on Norway.

While a number of organizations have encouraged Norway to hunt the “spy” whale, the Fisheries Directorate rejects the idea.

“We have always reported that the whale is a free-living animal and we see no reason to capture it and put it behind fences,” Buck-Jensen said Wednesday.

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