2.1.4 Right Whale (Eubalaena spp.)
The order Eubalaena comprises of three types of right whale: the North Atlantic
right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), the North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica), and the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis). The species are close
relatives of the bowhead whale and are also very similar in look. Right whales,
however, display a high degree of callosity on their heads, the jawline, the chin and
around the blowhole. These are caused by parasitic crustaceans, commonly referred
to as ‘whale lice’.
As is in the case of bowheads, the head of the right whale comprises around one
third of the body. The size of right whales ranges between 13 and 18 m whereas
northern right whales are generally larger than their southern relatives. Also right
whales display a bow-like mouth shape, but are easily distinguishable from bowhead
whales due to the characteristic callus. Different shark species as well as killer
whales predate on right whales.
Traditionally, the populations in the North Atlantic have been subdivided into a
western and eastern population although there is no genetic difference between
them. Sightings of individual whales in the eastern Atlantic which could be
identified as being part of the western population underline this. Historically, stocks
of right whales could be found in the waters from Florida to Labrador, in southern
Greenland, around Iceland and northern Norway as well as in western Africa.
Nowadays, the western Atlantic stock ranges from Florida to Nova Scotia and rarely
beyond and constitutes the main Atlantic stock since hardly any sightings have
occurred in the eastern Atlantic in recent times.
The habitat of the North Pacific right whale extends traditionally from Japan,
Northern Mexico, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska.
Accurate data on the population status of the North Pacific right whale is difficult
to obtain since the stock has decreased significantly.
The Southern right whale is subdivided into several stocks although a final
determination of these stocks has yet to occur. The current state of research indicates
that separate stocks exist in Argentina and Brazil, South Africa, east Africa and
Mozambique, western Australia, south-eastern Australia, New Zealand and Chile.
While only the stocks in Argentina, South Africa and Australia are well documented,
concrete numbers on the overall population are not available.
The right whale was the first whale which was hunted by Basque whalers in the
fifteenth century, due to the ease with which the whale could be hunted. Its slow
motion and the fact that it floated after it had been killed earned it the name ‘right’
whale as it was indeed the ‘right’ whale to hunt. Although it is not clear whether
Basque whaling beyond the Bay of Biscay has significantly impacted the right whale
population, genetic studies of the approximately 40,000 whales that the Basques
landed in the seventeenth century were predominantly North Atlantic right whales.
When commercial coastal whaling developed in North America throughout the
eighteenth century, right whale populations were reduced drastically. This was
also caused by the expanding US whaling operations (‘Yankee whaling’) in the
North and South Pacific as well as in the South Atlantic. Approximately 38,000 right
18
2 Marine Mammals: Some Basics
The order Eubalaena comprises of three types of right whale: the North Atlantic
right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), the North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica), and the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis). The species are close
relatives of the bowhead whale and are also very similar in look. Right whales,
however, display a high degree of callosity on their heads, the jawline, the chin and
around the blowhole. These are caused by parasitic crustaceans, commonly referred
to as ‘whale lice’.
As is in the case of bowheads, the head of the right whale comprises around one
third of the body. The size of right whales ranges between 13 and 18 m whereas
northern right whales are generally larger than their southern relatives. Also right
whales display a bow-like mouth shape, but are easily distinguishable from bowhead
whales due to the characteristic callus. Different shark species as well as killer
whales predate on right whales.
Traditionally, the populations in the North Atlantic have been subdivided into a
western and eastern population although there is no genetic difference between
them. Sightings of individual whales in the eastern Atlantic which could be
identified as being part of the western population underline this. Historically, stocks
of right whales could be found in the waters from Florida to Labrador, in southern
Greenland, around Iceland and northern Norway as well as in western Africa.
Nowadays, the western Atlantic stock ranges from Florida to Nova Scotia and rarely
beyond and constitutes the main Atlantic stock since hardly any sightings have
occurred in the eastern Atlantic in recent times.
The habitat of the North Pacific right whale extends traditionally from Japan,
Northern Mexico, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska.
Accurate data on the population status of the North Pacific right whale is difficult
to obtain since the stock has decreased significantly.
The Southern right whale is subdivided into several stocks although a final
determination of these stocks has yet to occur. The current state of research indicates
that separate stocks exist in Argentina and Brazil, South Africa, east Africa and
Mozambique, western Australia, south-eastern Australia, New Zealand and Chile.
While only the stocks in Argentina, South Africa and Australia are well documented,
concrete numbers on the overall population are not available.
The right whale was the first whale which was hunted by Basque whalers in the
fifteenth century, due to the ease with which the whale could be hunted. Its slow
motion and the fact that it floated after it had been killed earned it the name ‘right’
whale as it was indeed the ‘right’ whale to hunt. Although it is not clear whether
Basque whaling beyond the Bay of Biscay has significantly impacted the right whale
population, genetic studies of the approximately 40,000 whales that the Basques
landed in the seventeenth century were predominantly North Atlantic right whales.
When commercial coastal whaling developed in North America throughout the
eighteenth century, right whale populations were reduced drastically. This was
also caused by the expanding US whaling operations (‘Yankee whaling’) in the
North and South Pacific as well as in the South Atlantic. Approximately 38,000 right
18
2 Marine Mammals: Some Basics