Almost 100 whales illegally captured last year will be released from their sea pens in Russia after the animals were intercepted by Russian authorities purportedly en-route to Chinese marine entertainment parks.

Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the country’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to determine the best future for the 10 orcas and 87 beluga whales, which were discovered several months ago. It has been reported that the four companies involved in capturing them are to be charged with breaking Russian fishing laws, which stipulate that whales can only be caught legally for scientific and educational purposes.

The Ministry has called in a team of experts from the Whale Sanctuary Project, led by explorer and environmentalist Jean-Michel Cousteau, to assess the condition of the whales and decide how best to return them to the open ocean without harming them.

In a statement, the Whale Sanctuary Project announced that it has decided to "release the cetaceans back into their natural environment – our goal is to release all of them". However, the scientists – including Russian experts – must continue to evaluate the animals to determine when and how to release them.

The statement continued: "Until then, we'll immediately begin work so that the cetaceans are held in conditions most like their natural environment.

"We also expect that a rehabilitation centre will be created for those animals that are injured in wild nature and that need to be rehabilitated. We're working in a unified team toward this goal."

The Whale Sanctuary Project claims that more than 950 cetaceans from 12 different species are currently on display in China. There are already more than 75 dolphinariums and marine parks in the country, and at least 25 more are planned for construction over the next few years.