Whales In The Wild

The Status of the Great Whales


The Status of the Great Whales


Gentle Giants
Nine of the world's great whales


A scaled picture of whales


Current Status of the great whales
Species
Status
Distribution
Total
Northern right whale

Eubalaena glacialis

Endangered. Now the most endangered of the large whales, with no evidence of recovery. Most serious threats: vessel collisions and entanglement in fishing nets. Western North Atlantic: probably 300 to 600

Eastern North Atlantic: near extinction

North Pacific: extremely rare, very scattered (perhaps under 500?)

Probably

under l,000

(There are no

estimates of

pre-whaling

populations)

Southern right whale

Eubalaena australis

Vulnerable. Heavily depleted by commercial whaling, but at least two populations (with nursery areas off Argentina and South Africa) are beginning to recover at an encouraging rate. Most serious threats: entanglement in fishing nets, habitat destruction such as oil and gas exploitation, illegal hunting. Southern Hemisphere1,500 - 4,000

(There are

no good

estimates of

pre-whaling

populations)

Bowhead whale

Balaena mysticetus

Vulnerable. Heavily hunted by commercial whalers for whalebone and oil during 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, as well as by local people throughout history. Divided into four populations, some evidence of recovery. Most serious threats: industrial activity including oil and gas exploitation, hunting by lnuit and other native hunters (although the Alaskan hunt is authorized and monitored by the IWC, and this population is thought to be increasing). Spitzbergen:initial population about 25,000, now almost extinct, probably below 100

Hudson Bay/Davis Strait: initial population about 12,000, now probably under 500

Okhotsk Sea (NW Pacific): initial population about 8,000, now probably below 500

Bering/Chukchi/Beaufort Seas (around Alaska): initial population about 16,000, now between 6,400 and 9,200 (central estimate: 7,500) (Source: IWC 1988)

Probably

under 8,500

Blue whale

Balaenoptera musculus

Endangered. Scattered throughout all oceans, but the Northern and Southern Hemisphere populations do not mix since they migrate to tropical waters from their polar summer feeding grounds at different times of the year. The NE P acific population may be beginning to recover, but the Southern Hemisphere population shows no recovery at all. Most serious threat: illegal whaling. North Atlantic (original population estimated at 15,000): now perhaps 1,000 to 2,000

North Pacific (original population estimated at perhaps 10,000): now probably in the range 1,400 to 4,000

Southern Hemisphere (original population around 250,000): now 460 (minimum 210 - maximum 1,000) (Source: IWC 1994)

Probably

under 5,000

Pygmy blue whale

B.m. brevicauda

A recognized, small subspecies, found further north in the Southern Hemisphere than blue whales. It is not so heavily depleted as it was only exploited after the near-extermination of blue and fin whales. Southern HemisphereProbably a

few

thousand

remain

Fin whale

Balaenoptera physalus

Vulnerable. Most hunting was stopped in 1975, but some continued in the North Atlantic. There is no evidence of recovery so far. Most serious threat: marine pollution. North Atlantic (No pre-exploitation estimates): between 27,700 and 82,000

(Source: IWC 1969-89.) Note: there is considerable uncertainty over this estimate

Mediterranean: a few thousand

Southern Hemisphere (pre-exploitation population estimate is 300,000 to 1 650,000): 24,000

Probably

about 50,000

to 1 00,000

worldwide

Sei whale

Balaenoptera borealis

Vulnerable. It is especially difficult to estimate their numbers because they are easily confused with Bryde's whales which have an overlapping, but more subtropical, distribution. Central North Atlantic: 6,100 - 17,700 (Source: IWC 1989)

Rest of North Atlantic: there are no reliable estimates, although seis are known to be very depleted because hardly any have been seen recently in former whaling grounds. The total is probably under 3,000.

North Pacific: the latest estimate is 13,000, but this dates from 1974 and is not reliable.

Southern Hemisphere: very uncertain estimate: 40,000

Very roughly

65,000

Bryde's whale

Balaenoptera edeni

Insufficiently known: Only found in tropical and subtropical seas and do not make such long migrations as the other baleen whales. They have been reduced in some areas, especially off Peru, Chile, southern Africa, and Japan. Ma in threats: depletion of food fish, and illegal hunting (Bryde's are known to be being caught illegally in several areas including the Philippines and Taiwan). Population estimates are very uncertain, partly because they are confused with sei whales. Th e degree of depletion is unknown, because of undocumented "pirate whaling" in the Atlantic under flags of convenience in the 196Os-1970s. Very roughly

40,000 to 80,000

Gray whale

Eschrichtius robustus

Vulnerable. Of the original three populations, one is extinct in the North Atlantic, one is endangered in the western North Pacific, and one has recovered from very low levels in the eastern North Pacific. It has now recovered so well, despite the substantial continuing ]WC-permitted aboriginal/subsistence catches on behalf of Siberian communities, that it was removed from the US Endangered Species List in June 1994. Main threats: as shallow water feeders, gray whales stay clo se to coasts and are vulnerable to human disturbance and entanglement in fishing nets. Their breeding grounds in the lagoon-system of Baja, California are threatened by the expansion of salt-extraction plants on shore. Atlantic: extinct

Western North Pacific: perhaps 100 to 200

Eastern North Pacific: 20,400 to 21,800

(Source: IWC 1989)

Around 22,000
Humpback whale

Megaptera novaeangliae

Vulnerable: Seriously depleted by commercial whaling, but some populations seem to be starting to recover. Several humpback populations are being intensively studied and some 1 0,000 individuals throughout the world have been id entified using photographs. As the most acrobatic of all the great whales and with fascinating songs, humpbacks are very popular for whale-watching. They feed and breed near coasts, and so are vulnerable to human disturbance. Western North Atlantic: 5,500, range 2,890 to 8,120 (Source: IWC 1979-86)

Eastern North Atlantic: original population around 5,000, now very low, possibly a few hundred or less.

North Pacific: original population roughly estimated at 15,000. Estimates for present numbers range from 600 to 2,500

Northern Indian Ocean: perhaps around 500

Southern Hemisphere: around 12,000 (a small fraction of the original population)

There were

roughly 150,000

before

commercial

whaling, and

perhaps around

20,000 now

Minke whale

Balaenoptera

acutorostrata

Insufficiently known: They have been badly depleted in some parts of the world such as much of the North Atlantic and the western North Pacific, although in other areas including parts of the Southern Ocean they are thought to be not far below their pre-whaling numbers. They are distributed throughout all oceans. Northeastern Atlantic: considerable controversy has surrounded this population estimate, since Norway is currently catching around 300 whales a year under their objection to the moratorium, while the IWC agrees the population is depleted to below 54% of its original level and should be protected. The latest (1995) unofficial estimate is around 60,000.

Central Atlantic: in the range 21,600 to 31,400 (Source: IWC 1987-89)

West Greenland: in the range 1,790 to 5,950 (Source: IWC 1987-89)

Canadian East coast: no estimate available*

N. Pacific: in the range 12,000 to 48,600 (Source: IWC 1989-90)

S.Hemisphere: estimated in the range 514,000 to 1,1 38,000 (Source: IWC 1982-89)

In the range

61 0,000 to

1,284,000

Sperm whale

Physeter

macrocephalus

Insufficiently known: There is more uncertainty over the remaining numbers of sperm whales than there is over the other great whales. This is because they remain underwater for long periods, and because they are often found in l arge groups which makes information from surveys impossible to analyse in the same way as for the other whales. Research has now begun into acoustic survey techniques, but much more remains to be done. The whalers mostly targeted the larger males, so th at the balance between the sexes has been badly distorted. Found in all oceans. More remain in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere Unknown -

there may

have been

perhaps 3

million

worldwide

before

exploitation,

and possibly

up to 2

million

remain now,

but the total

could be

much lower

*Note: these Atlantic divisions are not known to be distinct biological populations, but are administrative divisions for management convenience under the old NMP; they are not used in the RMP.

Status categories: From IUCN Red Data Book (1 99 1)

Sources: Almost all estimates based on IWC Scientific Committee assessments, made at various dates.

WARNING: ALMOST ALL FIGURES ARE VERY APPROXIMATE

In addition, the following are useful sources of information:

* IUCN Red Data Book: Dolphins, Porpoises and Whales of the World (1991)

* IUCN/SSC Cetaccan Specialist Group, Dolphins, Porpoises and Whales: 1994-1998 Action Plan for the Conservation of Cetaceans (1994)




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Copyright 1996, The World Wide Fund For Nature