Whales

"Beginning in 2017, elevated mortalities in North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) have been documented, primarily in Canada but some in the United States, and were collectively declared an Unusual Mortality Event (UME) . . . the leading category for the cause of death for this UME is “human interaction,” specifically from entanglements or vessel strikes. . . the preliminary cumulative total number of animals in the North Atlantic right whale UME has been updated to 54 individuals to include both the confirmed mortalities (dead stranded or floaters) (n=34) and seriously injured free-swimming whales (n=20). . . Given that the latest preliminary estimate suggests there are fewer than 350 North Atlantic right whales remaining, these 54 individuals in the UME are a significant setback to the recovery of this endangered species."

“The whale previously known as the Bryde’s (pronounced “broodus”) whale is actually a new whale species living in the Gulf of Mexico. . . Lead author of the article, NOAA Fisheries scientist Dr. Patricia Rosel, provided the first morphological examination of a complete skull from these whales. She identified diagnostic characteristics that distinguish it from the other closely-related baleen whale species. Genetic data are provided as a second line of evidence supporting the uniqueness of the whales in the Gulf of Mexico. . . The new species retains its protected status under the Endangered Species Act as it was previously listed as an endangered subspecies (Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale). It is also protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. To date, there are fewer than 100 of these whales remaining, making them critically endangered.”

“The rebounding of the fin whales’ population, however, offers “a sign that if you enforce management and conservation, there are chances for species to recover,” Dr. Herr said. . . In 2018 and 2019, the researchers returned to the Antarctic Peninsula for the first dedicated study of the fin whale population. Through aerial surveys, researchers recorded 100 groups of fin whales, ranging in size from one to four individuals. They also documented eight large groups of up to 150 whales that had gathered to feed. The survey “confirms that this pattern is still going on and is emerging even stronger,” said Jarrod Santora, a fisheries biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who was among the first researchers to document increasing fin whale populations while studying krill. . . Unlike other species, such as blue whales, fin whales can forage over large distances and feed on a variety of food sources.”

“After roughly 30 years of what it has called scientific research whaling, which saw several hundred minke whales taken annually in the Antarctic and North Pacific, Japan in December announced it would leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and resume commercial whaling on July 1. . . Though Japan’s government insists eating whale is an important part of the country’s food culture, consumption did not become widespread until after World War Two. . . Roughly 300 people are directly involved in whaling. Demand for whale has been stagnant for more than a decade at roughly 5,000 tonnes annually. . . Nobody in the industry expects demand or profits to grow rapidly when commercial whaling resumes. But Japan has long felt vulnerable about food security. For the last 20 years, according to Agriculture Ministry data, only about 40 percent of the calories the average Japanese person consumes every day is domestically produced.”

“Between 2005 and 2016, Norwegians killed 5,617 whales – fewer than the 5,436 whales killed in Japan and the 1,199 killed in Iceland. But in 2014 and 2015, Norway killed more whales than Japan and Iceland combined . . . education is key . . . Citizens are also typically unaware of whale-watching's substantial revenue stream, as proven by the recent boost to Iceland's tourism economy.”

“Endangered humpback whales in nine of 14 newly identified distinct population segments have recovered enough that they don’t warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act. . . Four of the distinct population segments are still protected as endangered, and one is now listed as threatened. . . Commercial whaling severely reduced humpback whale numbers from historical levels, and the United States listed all humpback whales as endangered in 1970. . . The International Whaling Commission’s whaling moratorium, imposed in 1982, played a major role in the comeback of humpback whales, and remains in effect. . . All humpback whales remain protected in U.S. waters and on the high seas under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, regardless of their ESA status.”

“The International Union for the Conservations of Nature (IUCN) says that some large whale species are gradually rebounding . . . the status of humpback whales, southern right whales, and common minke whales has been upgraded . . . to ‘least concern.' A quarter of all whale species remain threatened with extinction, however, including the fin whale, the sei whale, and the blue whale.”

“Estimated at 21,000, gray whales may be as numerous today as they were before an American whaling ship discovered their breeding grounds off the Baja California peninsula. . . ‘Delisting from the Endangered Species Act removes a protection that has been vital to recovery,' said Maxine McCloskey of the Sierra Club. ‘It will leave them more vulnerable to pollution and other environmental hazards.’. . In the early 1970s, the National Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act established procedures for safeguarding the whale’s long migration corridor and feeding grounds. Around the same time, the Mexican government gave sanctuary status to the Baja lagoons where the whales migrate in winter.”

" 'Notwithstanding the other provisions of paragraph 10 [of the ICRW Schedule], catch limits for the killing for commercial purposes of whales from all stocks for the 1986 coastal and 1985/86 pelagic seasons and thereafter shall be zero. This provision will be kept under review, based upon the best scientific advice, and by 1990 at the latest the Commission will undertake a comprehensive assessment of the effects of this decision on whale stocks and consider modification of this provision and the establishment of other catch limits.' The 1982 moratorium was written to take effect in 1986 in order to allow states with sizeable commercial whaling industries to make preparations for the economic consequences of the ban. Immediately following the passage of the moratorium, objections were filed by Japan, Norway, Peru, and the Soviet Union."

“Succumbing to international pressure from environmentalists, the IWC agreed to admit nongovernmental observers (NGOs) to their proceedings . . . before long a worldwide anti-whaling movement had arisen . . . demonstrations were staged in Washington, London, even Tokyo . . . the United States, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand . . . emphatically denounced whaling.”

"For much of the 20th century, the scene in the waters around Antarctica was markedly different. Between 1904 and 1976, commercial whalers descended on the rich feeding grounds and killed an estimated 725,000 fin whales in the Southern Ocean, depleting their population to as little as 1 percent of its pre-whaling size."

"The North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) was listed as endangered under the ESA in 1973 where it appeared as the "northern right whale." It was originally listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Conservation Act, the precursor to the ESA, in June 1970."

“Recognizing the interest of the nations of the world in safeguarding for future generations the great natural resources represented by the whale stocks; Considering that the history of whaling has seen over- fishing of one area after another and of one species of whale after another to such a degree that it is essential to protect all species of whales from further over-fishing. . . Desiring to establish a system of international regulation for the whale fisheries to ensure proper and effective conservation and development of whale stocks on the basis of the principles embodied in the provisions of the International Agreement for the Regulation of Whaling, signed in London on 8th June, 1937, and the protocols to that Agreement signed in London on 24th June, 1938, and 26th November, 1945. . . “

118,300 are reported “as being caught in the eight years before World War II: when the war ended, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was developed in an attempt to regulate the slaughter. But whalers continued to target the species.”