Fin Whale - Human Interaction

Human Interaction

In the 19th century, the fin whale was occasionally hunted by open-boat whalers, but it was relatively safe because of its speed and the fact that it often sank when killed. However, the later introduction of steam-powered boats and harpoons that exploded on impact made it possible to kill and secure them along with blue whales and sei whales on an industrial scale. As other whale species became over-hunted, the whaling industry turned to the still-abundant fin whale as a substitute. It was primarily hunted for its blubber, oil, and baleen. Approximately 704,000 fin whales were caught in Antarctic whaling operations alone between 1904 and 1975.

The introduction of factory ships with stern slipways in 1925 substantially increased the number of whales taken per year. In 1937-38 alone, over 29,000 fin whales were taken. From 1953-54 to 1961-62, the catch averaged over 30,000 per year. By 1962-63, sei whale catches began to increase as fin whales became scarce. By 1975-76, fewer than 1,000 fin whales were being caught each year. In the North Pacific, over 74,000 fin whales were caught between 1910 and 1975. Between 1910 and 1989, over 55,000 were caught in the North Atlantic.

The IWC prohibited hunting in the Southern Hemisphere in 1976. The Soviet Union engaged in the illegal killing of protected whale species in the North Pacific and Southern Hemisphere, over-reporting fin whale catches to cover up illegal takes of other species. In the North Pacific, they reported taking over 10,000 fin whales between 1961-79, while the true catch was less than 9,000. In the Southern Hemisphere, they reported taking nearly 53,000 between 1948-73, when the true total was a little over 41,000. The fin whale was given full protection from commercial whaling by the IWC in the North Pacific in 1976, and in the North Atlantic in 1987, with small exceptions for aboriginal catches and catches for research purposes. All populations worldwide remain listed as endangered species by the US National Marine Fisheries Service and the International Conservation Union Red List, and the fin whale is on Appendix 1 of CITES.

The IWC has set a quota of 19 fin whales per year for Greenland. Meat and other products from whales killed in these hunts are widely marketed within Greenland, but export is illegal. Iceland and Norway are not bound by the IWC's moratorium on commercial whaling because both countries filed objections to the moratorium. In October 2006, Iceland's fisheries ministry authorized the hunting of nine fin whales through August 2007. In 2009 and 2010, Iceland caught 125 and 148 fin whales, respectively.

In the southern hemisphere, Japan permits annual takes of 10 fin whales under its Antarctic Special Permit whaling program for the 2005–2006 and 2006–2007 seasons. The proposal for 2007–2008 and the subsequent 12 seasons allows taking 50 per year. While ten fin whales were caught in the 2005-06 season and three in the 2006-07 season, none were caught in the 2007-2008 season. A single fin whale was caught in both the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons, two were taken in the 2010-11 season, and one was taken in the 2011-12 season.

Collisions with ships are a major cause of mortality. In some areas, they cause a substantial portion of large whale strandings. Most serious injuries are caused by large, fast-moving ships over or near the continental shelf.