The minke whale continues to be hunted in nations such as Iceland, Norway and Japan. Minke whales are listed as a species of least concern by the IUCN Red List in part due to a lack of data. Some of their populations have experienced declining numbers, but not enough to indicate that they are in danger of extinction.
Japan maintains that annual whaling is sustainable and necessary for scientific study and management of whale stocks, though the Antarctic minke whale populations have declined since the beginning of the JARPA program and those whales killed have shown increasing signs of stress.
Commercial whaling ceased for a five-year period to allow a small scientific catch for gauging the stock's sustainability; whaling subsequently resumed in 1993. Minke whales are the only legally hunted species.
Blue Whales can grow up to 29.9 meters in length and a maximum weight of 173 tonnes. Blue Whales are known as the largest animal that exists on earth. Normally the humpback whale has a distinctive body shape, having a longer pectoral fin with a knobbly head.
Diet of minke whales consists of krill (small crustaceans), fish (herring and sardines) and squids. Minke whales are fast and agile swimmers. They can swim at the speed of 21 miles per hour when they are threatened. During the feeding time, minke whales swim very slow, only 1 to 6 miles per hour.
The International Whaling Commission catch database estimates that 382,595 blue whales were caught between 1868 and 1978.
Minke whales have a fairly tall, sickle-shaped dorsal fin located about two-thirds down their back. Their body is black to dark grayish/brownish, with a pale chevron on the back behind the head and above the flippers, as well as a white underside.
Whaling is the hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil which became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
Minke whales in the United States are not endangered or threatened, but they are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. NOAA Fisheries and its partners are dedicated to conserving minke whales. We use a variety of innovative techniques to study and protect this species.
What environmental impact will Japan's whaling have? The ministry will allow for the hunting of three species: minke, Bryde's and sei whales. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, minke and Bryde's whale are not endangered.
Minke whales were not then regularly hunted by the large-scale whaling operations in the Southern Ocean because of their relatively small size. However, by the early 1970s, following the overhunting of larger whales such as the sei, fin, and blue whales, minkes became a more attractive target of whalers.
They are frequently reported in areas off of Australia (such as the Great Barrier Reef), South America and South Africa. The distribution of the Antarctic and dwarf minke species partially overlaps, mostly in the lower latitudes of the Antarctic minke's range (in the Southern Ocean).
The minke whale is a black/gray/purple color. Common minke whales (Northern Hemisphere variety) are distinguished from other whales by a white band on each flipper. The body is usually black or dark-gray above and white underneath.
Over a thousand whales are killed each year for their meat and body parts to be sold for commercial gain.
In 2016, according to the country's Institute for Cetacean Research, Japan's whaling fleet has killed 333 minke whales in the part of this year's Antarctic whale hunt. Some 230 were female; about 90% of these were pregnant, according to the report.
Since the whalers left and tighter international regulations on whaling have been agreed, populations have begun to bounce back, with researchers saying the seas still have the capacity to support large numbers of whales.
Killer whale attack. Killer whales (or orcas) are powerful predators capable of killing leopard seals and great white sharks. They have also been recorded preying on usually terrestrial species such as moose swimming between islands. In the wild, there have been no fatal attacks on humans and only one reported bite.
Whaling is the hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil which became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution.
Leatherback turtles are listed as endangered on the Species at Risk List in Canada, and are on the Endangered Species List in the United States. There are estimated to be between 34,000 and 36,000 nesting females left worldwide (compared to 115,000 nesting females in 1980).
Conservation status
| Critically endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|
| Blue whale (Antarctic) | Blue whale Gray whale Northwest Pacific population (cf. Northeast Pacific population)* North Pacific right whale North Atlantic right whale Sei whale | Blue whale musculus subspecies - Atlantic population Fin whale Sperm whale |
Historical estimates indicate that widespread commercial exploitation began in the 19th century and that approximately 20,000 humpbacks and 30,000 to 50,000 fin whales existed in the North Atlantic before hunting began (2, 9, 31–33).
How long is a blue whale?
Female: 25 mNorthern hemisphere population, Adult
Male: 24 mNorthern hemisphere population, Adult
In the “The conservation of whales in the 21st century”
Blue – fewer than 2000 in the Southern Hemisphere; Fin – 720,000 fins were taken from the Southern Hemisphere during the twentieth century. This population is now probably less than 20,000.Recently, the estimated population of minke whales has come into question, and it is possible that some stocks have been depleted because of modern whaling and hunting. The latest stock assessment reports for U.S. minke whale stocks include population estimates for each minke whale stock in U.S. waters.
Whales use blubber as an insulation layer to help maintain the energy and warmth when they dive to cool depths or travel to cold waters such as in Alaska. The blubber layer is a thick (6 inches) layer of fat that is found under the skin.
There are 14 species of baleen whale including the blue, bowhead, right, humpback, minke and grey whale. All baleen whales have baleen instead of teeth which they use to collect shrimp-like krill, plankton and small fish from the sea.
The present population worldwide is estimated to be 15,000 whales; with 2,000 of these living in CA coastal waters.
Today, NOAA listed Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whales as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act. This whale is at risk of extinction due to its small population size, restricted range, and several major threats.
Pilot whale population numbers are unknown, however they are not considered endangered. There are an estimated 1 million long-finned pilot whales and approximately 200,000 short-finned pilot whales worldwide.
An orca is a marine mammal. They are often confused for being a whale because of their name 'killer whale', but did you know that orcas are actually dolphins? Orcas are incredibly popular as they are the most widely distributed of all whales and dolphins, found in every single ocean!
