Whale Stocks Research Articles

Suicide of the Whaling Industry

The FPS Honorary Secretary represented both the FPS and the British National Appeal of WWF at the meetings of the International Whaling Commission, in Canberra, Australia, in June 1977. The FPS Statement to the IWC called again for a moratorium on whaling, as proposed at Stockholm in 1972, and commented: ‘It is a sobering thought to consider how much larger the whale stocks and quotas were in 1972 than they are today’.

Whale conservation: Role of the International Whaling Commission

Gross overcatching of whales in the Antarctic resulted in a series of international agreements in the 1930s designed primarily to control oil output and so to ensure a stable market. These agreements led to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, signed in 1946. The interests of the industry were paramount in setting catch quotas, so that the major stocks were seriously depleted. A more conservative approach initiated in 1965 has led to the present management policy of the IWC which is aimed at bringing all whale stocks to the levels providing the maximum sustainable long-term yields. The author analyses the issues and implications surrounding these developments.

World whale stocks

AbstractThe history of whaling is very largely one of repeated over‐exploitation of the various whale stocks which became available through discovery or technological advance. Modern whaling has similarly caused considerable reductions in the numbers of some species in the major whaling grounds.Stock assessment methods are based on catch and effort statistics, biological information including age and reproductive status, marking and sightings records.Catch effort data have to be used with caution, because of changes in species preference, shifts in the whaling grounds and national fleet variations. With allowance made for these factors, cumulative catches adjusted for recruitment can be used to estimate the initial stock number. Changes in stock density after known catches also lead to abundance estimates. Logarithmic regression of age composition data are used to find the total mortality rates. The natural mortality can be estimated from early season catches in a fishery or pre‐fishery year classes caught more recently; fishing mortality is found by subtraction, which again leads to abundance estimates. Mathematical approaches incorporating recruitment estimates from actual age composition data and theoretical population models have been employed. Additional estimates come from mark release‐recapture experiments and direct sightings counts from whaling vessels and research ships. The latter are the only means of estimating the protected species.The yields which the various stocks can sustain are calculated from direct observations and theoretical considerations of the changes in recruitment, largely due to increased pregnancy rates and the lower ages at sexual maturity which occur in exploited stocks.The results of all the available analyses have been compared and combined to produce the population estimates and yields tabulated. The object of whale management is to bring all stocks to the levels providing the maximum or optimum sustainable yields. These are defined in terms of numbers at the moment, but may be expressed as biomass in the future.

Modern whaling in Britain and the north‐east Atlantic Ocean

AbstractModern whaling, using an explosive harpoon fired from a steam catcher‐boat to kill the fast‐swimming rorquals, began from shore whaling stations in northern Norway in the 1860s. It spread to Iceland, the Faeroe Islands and Spitsbergen, before reaching the British Isles in 1903.Whaling took place from four stations in the Shetland Islands, one in the Outer Hebrides, and two in Ireland, before the First World War. Fin whales were the main species caught but Blue, Humpback, Sei, Right, Sperm and Bottle‐nosed whales were also taken. Four stations re‐opened in 1920, but from 1923 onwards only two continued to operate and whaling ceased in 1929, though the Hebridean station worked again for two seasons in 1950–1951.The species composition of catches at the Hebridean and Irish stations was very similar and different from that of the stations in the Shetland Islands where few Blue whales and Right whales were taken. There is evidence that Fin whales were being overfished on the Shetland Islands whaling grounds at an early date, and that Blue whales and Right whales, but not Fin whales, declined in numbers on the Hebridean grounds.The history of modern whaling in the north‐east North Atlantic region as a whole indicates that the stocks of Blue, Humpback and Right whales were not large enough to support continuous whaling on the scale which took place there. The development of whaling since 1945 supports the view that there are separate populations of Fin whales in the region. The numbers of this species have declined on the whaling grounds of the Faeroe Islands and western Norway, and possibly also of north Norway, but not on the Icelandic grounds where there is no evidence of overfishing.

Whales and Whaling: a Dance of Death

The whaling industry and its raw material, the whale stocks of the world, continue their grim Totentanz towards their mutual extinction. The most significant event of the 27th meeting of the International Whaling Commission in London in June, and one of the least publicised, was the Soviet announcement that next season they would have only two instead of three Antarctic expeditions. And, in fulfilment of the classic Parkinsonian theory, the IWC is about to get itself a full-time secretary and new offices in Cambridge just as the industry which provides its raison d'être has reached the brink of the precipice of its final decline. For the most significant event of all was one which was ignored at the meeting: the current experiments by Norway, West Germany, and other nations into the harvesting of krill. Since harvesting the top of the food chain is always the most uneconomic method of using natural resources, it may well be that in human terms it is more economic for men rather than whales to feed on krill. But there can be no doubt that a thoroughgoing effort to harvest krill would mean the virtual end of the whaling industry, by depriving the great baleen whales of their food. But this prospect did not seem sufficiently real to the IWC mandarins to warrant their discussing it—again a classic reaction to imminent extinction.

Management of International Whaling and North Pacific Fur Seals: Implications for Fisheries Management

After many early vicissitudes, since 1911, the North Pacific fur seal stocks have been managed in the light of the best current information. During this time management problems have gradually changed from those of restoring depleted herds to those of finding the best exploitation strategy for herds at or near their maximum productivity (particularly in the case of the Pribilof and Robben herds). This has been achieved by agreement among the four nations who formerly captured fur seals either on land or at sea. The agreement includes a quota distribution of the kill.Many stocks of the larger baleen whales have been decimated in various parts of the world, some during the last century but others since 1930 — particularly those of the antarctic. Although biological information was adequate to recognize this overexploitation and even to follow it quantitatively, the International Whaling Commission was powerless to halt the decline because its terms required unanimity of decisions and precluded assigning national quotas. Also, quotas were set for a combined take rather than by species. In 1972 these weaknesses were resolved, but not before blue and humpback whales were commercially extinct in the antarctic and fin whale stocks were far below the level of maximum yield. A recent forward-looking step by the Commission has been that of setting a conservative annual quota for the previously unused minke whales of the antarctic, this to be revised in the light of its reaction to exploitation.Sperm whales have been only a secondary target for whalers during most of this century, while the polygamous habit and greater size of the male sperm whale have made their conservation easier than for the baleen species. However, the level of maximum sustained yield is now being approached and the strategy for attaining it is currently a lively topic of controversy and research.Different parts of this history of seal and whale management can be applied in fishery management, either as guides for action or as horrible examples of the results of inaction. The principal difference is that fish stocks typically have a much larger replacement rate, hence can support larger rates of exploitation than the mammals can. However, this in no way decreases the need for rational management.

The conservation of Antarctic whales

The large antarctic stocks of baleen whales have been exploited for the past half-century, and internationally-agreed conservation measures have been in force for half of that time. These measures have included complete protection of Right Whales ( Balaena spp.), of all females with calves, and of small whales, and also a limit on the total numbers caught. This limit was set, in 1946, a little too high, and the gap between it and the combined sustainable yield from the different stocks widened as the stocks (particularly of Blue and Fin Whales) declined. At the worst period, in 1964, the catches were some three times the sustainable yield. By that time, Fin Whales were well below the level giving the maximum sustainable yield, and Blue Whales and Humpback Whales were approaching commercial extinction. Since 1965, Blue and Humpback Whales have been protected, and there is evidence that the Blue Whales are increasing, and are considerably more abundant than had been feared. Catches of Fin and Sei Whales have been reduced to about the sustainable level. Though the Sei Whale stocks, taken as a whole, are around the optimum level, the Fin Whale stocks are still seriously depleted, and further action is needed to rebuild them.

The Plight of the Whales

Even at the time that Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick whalers were alarmed at the decline in whale stocks. To-day the situation is so serious as a result of overhunting that the whaling industry, which could produce more than half a million tons of meat and edible oils a year, is destroying itself. John Gulland, of the Fisheries Research Laboratory at Lowestoft, was one of the Committee of four scientists appointed by the Whaling Commission to investigate the whale stocks. Their report last summer showed how serious the depletion had been. Nevertheless, die recommendations for cuts in the whale quotas were rejected by the four whaling countries. In this article, originally broadcast by the B.B.C., Mr Gulland suggests an ingenious solution which he regards as the only hope for saving both whales and whaling.

THE ANTITROPICAL FACTOR IN CETACEAN SPECIATION

It is well known that several cetacean genera, and possibly even some species, are discontinuously distributed on either side of equator. Such distributions, often described as bipolar, have been widely discussed for other marine animals-notably by Berg (1933) and by Ekman (1953)--but no one has attempted a systematic examination of phenomenon in regard to whales and dolphins. Because most so-called bipolar marine distributions are actually bitemperate or even bisubtropical, Hubbs (1952) suggested term as more appropriate and all-inclusive. An attempt is made here to review nature of antitropical distributions in Cetacea, to account for them, and to suggest something of their evolutionary significance. Present evidence, both specific and circumstantial, suggests that earlier cetaceans lived in a warm-water environment. Thus earliest known forms are zeuglodonts from Middle Eocene of Egypt, Nigeria, and Texas and distribution of existing species still suggests an aversion to cold: only three genera (Balaena, Delphinapterus, and Monodon) breed in polar waters, none breeds in Antarctic polar waters, and majority of species frequenting cold water appear to move equatorward to breed. By end of Eocene, zeuglodonts had spread north to British Columbia, England, and Germany and probably south to Australia and New Zealand; at any rate they were certainly in southern waters by Oligocene. Toward end of Eocene also, first archaic toothed whales (Odontoceti) appeared, but are known only from North America. Although a few zeuglodonts persisted in early Miocene, both of these early stocks apparently declined markedly during Oligocene without being immediately replaced by newer forms. Kellogg (1928) remarked on the scarcity of fossil cetaceans in Oligocene and pointed out that this all more surprising in view of wide variety of types that make their appearance in formations of lower Miocene age. In addition to now extinct squalodonts, modern groups of dolphins, sperm whales, beaked whales, and river dolphins all appeared about this time, together with first of whalebone whales-the cetotheres. The marked turnover of forms at about Oligocene-Miocene boundary appears to be correlated with cooling of world climates during Tertiary, which seems generally to have been reflected in oceanic temperatures. The writer has recently suggested (Davies, 1958) that an apparently sudden enlargement of range and speeding of evolutionary rates in Pinnipedia was associated with this expansion of coldwater environment, and it seems likely that mid-Tertiary revolution in whale stocks arose for a similar reason. The older, warm-water types failed to adapt themselves to growing new cold-water environments and newer types, which appeared in force in Miocene, evolved and spread rapidly in response to these new opportunities. There are some indications in distribution of post-Oligocene as compared with pre-Miocene fossils and in almost complete fossil taxonomic discontinuity between northern and southern hemispheres that equatorial warm-water zone was an important barrier to dispersal throughout later Tertiary. However distribution and relationship of existing Cetacea show that, while equatorial zone is still a barrier, there have been relatively recent opportunities for increased dispersal

Southern Atmospheric Cyclones and the Whale Feeding Grounds in the Antarctic

KNOWLEDGE of the distribution of the stocks of commercial fishes and whales is of no less interest than knowledge of their numbers. N. A. Mackintosh1 suggested that “it may be that since Blue and Fin whales tend to concentrate in much the same regions in the Antarctic [where the Humpbacks concentrate—C. W. B.], they too, although they do not crowd into temperate coastal waters, are still loosely influenced by the southern land-masses, and that it is subsidiary features of their distribution that are controlled by their immediate environment” (p. 259). This communication gives a possible explanation of this “loose influence”.

International Whaling Commission

At a whaling conference in London, in June 1959, representatives of the United Kingdom, Japan, the Netherlands, and Norway again failed to reach agreement on a national quota arrangement for whaling in the Antarctic, a problem which they had been discussing intermittently since November 1958. At the end of the futile talks, Norway resigned from the International Whaling Convention. The Netherlands subsequently followed suit, leaving only die United Kingdom, Japan, and the Soviet Union as members. In consequence, no over-all international quota was fixed for die 1959–1960 season, scheduled to open on December 28. However, the International Whaling Commission reportedly agreed at its eleventh annual meeting diet the maximum permissible catch of whales for the Antarctic season 1959–1960 should not be changed, the figure remaining at 15,000 blue whale units. The blue whale stocks in the North Atlantic were considered to be too low for exploitation at present, so this species was scheduled for complete protection.

戰後の近海捕鯨業について

This is an additional paper to the writer's recent work “The whaling and whale stocks in the adjacent waters of Japan” (Report of the Laboratory of the Nippon Suisan Co. Ltd., 4, 1950; in Japanese). The compositions of the whales caught in 1949 are shown here. The result of a statistical analysis indicates that under existing conditions any increase in the whaling effort in the coastal grounds will turn out ot be unprofitable.

The Stock of Whales

IN an article on the "Effect of Present-day Whaling on the Stock of Whales"1, Dr. Hamilton points out that in spite of a ‘rest' during the War, the Antarctic catch of blue whales in 1945–46 showed a scarcity of the largest animals, a reduced proportion of this species (30.7 per cent) in the total catch, and a reduced percentage of mature females which were pregnant ; and he infers that the stock of blue whales is showing clear signs of reduction. Among other matters he points out that the limit of 16,000 ‘blue whale units' allows the killing of many more than 16,000 Whales. Although in agreement with much of what Dr. Hamilton says, I think it should be noted that the figures for the subsequent season of 1946–47 show that blue whales were taken in relatively larger numbers, and formed about 38·5 per cent of the catch. Although this is still not very high, and gives no grounds for complacency, it is a distinct improvement on 1945–46.

Effect of Present-Day Whaling on the Stock of Whales

IN November 1946, the Norsk Hvalfangst Tidende (Norwegian Whaling Gazette), which is an authoritative journal, published an article on Antarctic pelagic whaling in the season 1945–46. This article contains the minous statement1 that although the proportion of mature females taken in the catch shows an increase on the seasons immediately preceding the War, the percentage of mature females which were pregnant shows a marked decline. In blue whales, this percentage was only 20· 7 per cent and in fin whales 23·2 per cent. Percentages of pregnant females are also given for five pre-war seasons, the lowest figure appearing in 1934—35 and being 28·7 per cent for blue whales and 33·1 per cent for fin whales.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF WHALEBONE WHALES

Summary(1) The whaling industry has provided both the facilities and the stimulus for modern research on the general biology of whales. The principal methods of investigation are (a) anatomical examination, (b) observations at sea, (c) the marking of whales, (d) analysis of the statistics of the whaling industry, (a) The whalebone whales are migratory animals, inhabiting high latitudes in summer where food is plentiful, and moving into warmer waters in winter where there is little or no food, but where breeding takes place. The Greenland right whale does not move far from the Arctic regions and is not found in the southern hemisphere. The black right whales of the north and south do not migrate far and are separated by a wide tropical belt. The humpback migrates from the polar ice to the equator, and frequents tropical coastal waters in the winter months. In the southern hemisphere it is segregated into several communities which have separate migration routes, and between which there can be little interchange. Blue and fin whales undertake less regular and extensive migrations. They are not segregated like the humpbacks, but show a slight tendency to concentrate in the same regions. Grey whales inhabit the North Pacific and undertake regular migrations along the coasts of North America and in Japanese waters. There is less information on the distribution of the sei, lesser rorqual, pigmy right, and Bryde's whale. (3).Certain planktonic Crustacea form the principal food of the whalebone whales. In the Antarctic they feed virtually exclusively on the shoals of Euphausia superba. In the northern seas the diet seems to be more varied. Meganyctiphanes norvegica is probably the most important food organism in the North Atlantic, but further investigations are needed. Little food is taken in winter, though fish and small quantities of other Crustacea are sometimes eaten. (4) Examination of the reproductive organs and measurements of foetuses at different times of year show that breeding mainly takes place in winter and that the period of gestation is about a year. Normally one young is born at a time, and the usual interval between successive pregnancies is probably two years. This applies to blue and fin whales, but other species are probably similar. Blue and fin whales are believed to become sexually mature in about two or three years. The old corpora lutea of the ovaries persist and accumulate, and constitute the best indication so far found of the age of an adult whale. There is some evidence that the rate of increment is about one per year, but this again needs confirmation. The largest recorded number is fifty‐four. Indications of periodic growth in the baleen plates constitute a new method of determining the ages of young whales. The rate of growth is faster in the anterior than in the posterior part of the body. (5) Whalebone whales are more plentiful in the southern than in the northern hemisphere. The sexes are nearly equal. The existing ratio of blue, fin and humpback whales is estimated to be of the order of 15, 75 and 10 respectively in the Southern Ocean, but no estimate has yet been made of the absolute numbers in the populations. Most whaling is carried out by the Antarctic pelagic factories, and little is done now in the northern hemisphere. The stocks of blue and humpback whales have been depleted by the modern industry, but fin whales have been less affected, and progress has been made in the international regulation of whaling. (6) In the future it will be necessary to continue research to some extent on the same lines as before, but new or modified methods could be developed, and aircraft and modern technical devices might be used with advantage.

Whale Stocks and Whaling

Norsk Hvalfangst-Tidende, now in its thirty-fourth year, is the official organ of the Norwegian Whaling Association. It is a current history of whaling and publishes information on all branches of the subject.

The Southern Stocks of Whalebone Whales

THE main object of the research conducted by the "Discovery" Committee is the investigation of the biology of the economically valuable whales frequenting Antarctic waters. A number of "Discovery" reports dealing with various aspects of the subject have already been published, and Dr. Mackintosh's present paper incorporates much of this material in a comprehensive survey of pre-war conditions. At the present time, whaling is at a standstill, and the stock of whales is enjoying a respite from pursuit likely to extend to the end of the War. The effect of this war-time period of protection can only be measured comparatively in terms of conditions prevailing when whaling ceased. From this aspect, Dr. Mackintosh's review is of particular value. It should be emphasized that his memoir is by no means merely a compilation of already published data. It contains a great body of additional information which the author has analysed, and also uses statistics of the whaling industry to provide a statement on the condition of the southern whale stocks which will be invaluable in the investigations necessary when whaling becomes active again. The Southern Stocks of Whalebone Whales By Dr. N. A. Mackintosh. (Discovery Reports. Issued by the Discovery Committee, Colonial Office, London, on behalf of the Government of the Dependencies of the Falkland Islands.) Pp. 197–300. (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1942.) 15s. net.

南氷洋に於ける捕獲鯨の組成

The present account deals with the results of direct observations on the humpback whales brought into the floating factory “Kyokuyo-maru” during the Antarctic season 1938/39. Dur-ing the period extending from 18th November 1938 to 8th February 1939, a total of 248 whales was examined and more than 70% of them were caught in the area between 61°-63°S. and 100°-105°E. (1) Of 248 humpbacks examined 174 were females and 74 were males ; thus the sex-ratio of the whales showed great segregation of females in the above-mentioned area. (2) The colour pattern of the humpbacks was divided by LILLIE'S method according to the gradation occurred in the amount of black and white as shown in Fig. 2. The colour type of the whales was rather alike to that of New Zealand group than that of South Africa and South Georgia groups. The differences in colour were not accompanied by any other distinguishable characters. (3) Examination of the genitalia showed That female humpbacks become sexually mature at a length of about 12•1m. This length is somewhat shorter than that (12•5m) suggested by MATTHEWS (1937). The smallest mature female recorded was 10•9m. long while the largest immature one was measured 12•4m. (4) The average number of corpora lutea of 89 females (the average length of which was measured 12•78m.) was 4•78. It was seen from this that female humpbacks were consisted of average same age during the 1924-1931 season at South Georgia and South Africa and during the 1938/39 season in the mentioned area. (5) Of 16 adult females with only one corpus luteum 10 were pregnant, I was lactating and 1 was recently ovulated or pregnant. Thus at least 11 (69%) whales would be estimated as they were pregnant in the first breeding season and nearly the same results were obtained also in the whales with two or three corpora lutea. It might be tentatively concluded same as blue whales that number of unfertilized ovula-tions or formations of corpora atretica before pregnancy, if any, must be very few. Neither multiple ovulations nor multiple pregnancies were observed throughout the season. (6) The apparent constitution of the, stock i.e. the ratios of the different classes of whales examined might be summarized as follows. (See page 52). High proportion of pregnant whales among mature whales were obvious against low pro-portion of resting and recently ovulated or pregnant whales when compared with blue and fin whales. (7) Assuming the females caught belong to an independent stock, the stock of whales in the area were tentatively calculated (WHEELER'S method on fin whales was adopted) not wi th standing insufficient data and heterogeneous composition of the catch. Analysis of the age groups of mature females determined by the corpora lutea during the season showed a rate of reduction of 32% on an average and besides it was proved by calcu-lation that as there produced only about 64% of immature females necessary to keep the stock at its present level, considerable damage is being done in the area concerned.

Whaling, 1938–39

In order to safeguard the stock of whales in northern seas, special regulations for Svalbard have been proposed by the Norwegian Government. These regulations forbid both Norwegian and foreign subjects to use a land station for the taking and treatment of whales in Svalbard and Jan Mayen. They follow the international agreements of 1937 and 1938 which provide for the closing of the Northern Hemisphere for pelagic baleen whaling and restriction of the activity of land stations to six months of the year.

Societies and Academies

LONDON. Linnean Society, Mar. 15.—Stanley W. Kemp: Whaling research and the work of the Discovery Expedition. The principal object of the Discovery Expedition is the study of whales and whaling in the southern hemisphere. The history of whaling in the north shows that species have been reduced, sometimes almost to the point of extinction, by methods far less deadly than those at present employed. Experience indicates that when once a stock of whales has been seriously depleted, recovery, if it is ever effected, is a matter of centuries, and it follows that, if too many rorquals are taken in the south, there is a grave risk that a very important source of wealth will be destroyed. The actual extermination of any species of whale, however, is most improbable under present conditions, for long before this point can be reached, commercial operations would cease to be profitable. The two ships of the expedition, the Discovery and the William Scoresby, have for the most part been engaged in research on the plankton and hydrography of southern waters with the view of obtaining precise information on the environment of whales. In the south, whale-food appears to consist exclusively of a single species of Euphausia (a crustacean related to the decapods), and a special study of this species and the reasons for its great abundance in certain parts of the Antarctic has been made. Hydrographic work, to determine the physical and chemical constitution of the water, has been undertaken in conjunction with the planktonic observations (see also NATURE, Oct. 30, 1926, p. 628).—P. J. Greenway: The forest flora of south Central Africa. Much of the material was collected by Mr. R. Bourne, of the Imperial Forestry Institute, while on a tour of inspection on behalf of the Northern Rhodesian Government. The collection represents 131 species, comprised in 80 genera and 34 families. The three families of Leguminosae furnish the largest number of species. Only two genera, Monotes and Marquesia, of the Dipterocarpaceae, are met with; of the former there are several reputed specimens, which are fairly common in the dry savannah forest. Marquesia macroura Gilg, the ‘Musesjie,’ is one of the most abundant trees in Northern Rhodesia and the Katanga, where it attains a height of 65 to 80 feet; the wood is described as very hard and of good quality, and is used for finishing houses and in carriage-building. Of especial interest is the occurrence of a species of Hirtella (Rosacea?). This genus is chiefly American in its distribution, being represented by about 40 species in Central and South America.