Population
Surveys of the size of the Northeast Atlantic pilot whale population have been conducted by the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission. These surveys converged on a figure of 778,000 pilot whales. The pilot whale is not registered as an endangered species.
In its Red List of Threatened Species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists both the Long-finned and Short-finned Pilot Whales with “Data Deficient” status, according to its 2008 assessment. In a previous assessment in 1996, the organization listed the species in the “Lower Risk/least concern” category. However, the IUCN also says that with the NAMMCO-estimated population size of 778,000 in the eastern North Atlantic, with approximately 100,000 around the Faroes, Faroese catches of 850 per year are probably sustainable.
According to the American Cetacean Society, pilot whales are not considered endangered. The society cites “There are likely to be almost a million long-finned pilot whales and at least 200,000 short-finned pilot whales worldwide”.
The population figure of 778,000 is accepted by the International Whaling Commission’s Scientific Committee. Those in favour of whaling, such as the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission in their 1997 and 1999 reports on the hunt, claim that this is a conservative estimate, whilst others opposed to the hunt, such as the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, cite data that the figure is overestimated. This means that the average kill from 1990–1999 of 956 animals each year represents about 0.1% of the population, which is considered sustainable by the IUCN and ACS.
Read more about this topic: Whaling In The Faroe Islands
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