the year 1985/86 (see Sect. 5.3.4) fin whale populations have started to recover.
Since 2006 Iceland has actively been hunting fin whales with a quota of 160–190
individuals per year. Up until Japan’s withdrawal from the International Whaling
Commission in December 2018 it had been hunting 3–10 fin whales per year in the
Antarctic for scientific purposes.
The IUCN lists the fin whale as ‘vulnerable.’ It is not clear, however, which fin
whale population is subject to which specific threat. For the North Atlantic a
population size of more than 50,000 animals is estimated. The global fin whale
population is assumed to be around 100,000 animals and increasing.
10 However,
these numbers must be used with care since evaluation and assessment methods are
imprecise.
2.1.3 Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus)
The bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) can only be found on the northern
hemisphere close to the Arctic sea ice. Female bowhead whales are larger than
males and can reach a length of 14–17 m and a weight of 75–100 tons. The head of
this whale species constitutes around one third of the overall size while the baleen
reaches a length of up to 4 m. The combination of skin and blubber is the thickest
amongst the whales: it is around 2.5 cm thick and merges with a layer of blubber of
5.5–28.5 cm thickness. The characteristic bow-like shape of its mouth is the patron
of its name.
The global population of bowhead whales is subdivided into four stocks: the
Western Arctic or Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort stock around Alaska; the Okhotsk stock
in Eastern Russia; a stock in northeastern Canada in the Davis Strait and Hudson
Bay, and around Svalbard in the North Atlantic.
11
Since the sixteenth century, bowhead whales have been hunted intensively,
resulting in a drastic reduction of the overall population. However, since the end
of the commercial hunts in 1915 all stocks have recovered. Indigenous peoples in
Alaska and Chukotka are legally entitled to a small number of bowheads under the
auspices of the International Whaling Commission. The overall number of hunted
bowhead whales does not exceed 50 individuals.
The IUCN lists the bowhead whale as ‘least concern’ with an increasing population trend. Although the overall population status is not finally resolved, it is
assumed that it at least comprises 100,000 animals.
12
10 Cooke (2018b).
11 Jungh and Shelden (2008), pp. 131–133.
12 Cooke and Reeves (2018).
2.1 Whales
17
Since 2006 Iceland has actively been hunting fin whales with a quota of 160–190
individuals per year. Up until Japan’s withdrawal from the International Whaling
Commission in December 2018 it had been hunting 3–10 fin whales per year in the
Antarctic for scientific purposes.
The IUCN lists the fin whale as ‘vulnerable.’ It is not clear, however, which fin
whale population is subject to which specific threat. For the North Atlantic a
population size of more than 50,000 animals is estimated. The global fin whale
population is assumed to be around 100,000 animals and increasing.
10 However,
these numbers must be used with care since evaluation and assessment methods are
imprecise.
2.1.3 Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus)
The bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) can only be found on the northern
hemisphere close to the Arctic sea ice. Female bowhead whales are larger than
males and can reach a length of 14–17 m and a weight of 75–100 tons. The head of
this whale species constitutes around one third of the overall size while the baleen
reaches a length of up to 4 m. The combination of skin and blubber is the thickest
amongst the whales: it is around 2.5 cm thick and merges with a layer of blubber of
5.5–28.5 cm thickness. The characteristic bow-like shape of its mouth is the patron
of its name.
The global population of bowhead whales is subdivided into four stocks: the
Western Arctic or Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort stock around Alaska; the Okhotsk stock
in Eastern Russia; a stock in northeastern Canada in the Davis Strait and Hudson
Bay, and around Svalbard in the North Atlantic.
11
Since the sixteenth century, bowhead whales have been hunted intensively,
resulting in a drastic reduction of the overall population. However, since the end
of the commercial hunts in 1915 all stocks have recovered. Indigenous peoples in
Alaska and Chukotka are legally entitled to a small number of bowheads under the
auspices of the International Whaling Commission. The overall number of hunted
bowhead whales does not exceed 50 individuals.
The IUCN lists the bowhead whale as ‘least concern’ with an increasing population trend. Although the overall population status is not finally resolved, it is
assumed that it at least comprises 100,000 animals.
12
10 Cooke (2018b).
11 Jungh and Shelden (2008), pp. 131–133.
12 Cooke and Reeves (2018).
2.1 Whales
17