Dolphins, Porpoises, and Whales - IUCN

unavailable to the commercial whaling industry (Horwood
1990). The status of minke whale stocks has been a major
concern of the IWC during the past two decades.
The minke whale is not an endangered species, nor has
any stock of minke whales been extirpated by whaling.
However, some stocks, particularly those in the central and
eastern North Atlantic and the western North Pacific, have
been reduced by commercial whaling. The incidental capture
of minke whales in fish nets and traps (Tobayama et
al. 1992) has been given little attention, and its impact on
pxjpulations has not been assessed.
Japanese whaling for minke whales has continued in
the Antarctic under scientific permits, and this has led to
much controversy within and outside the IWC. The annual
catch under these permits has been approximately 300.
Norway also conducted a small-scale "research whaling"
program in the North Atlantic during the moratorium era
and resumed commercial whaling in 1993, having formally
objected to the moratorium and thus not being
bound by its terms. Norwegian whalers took 226 whales
in 1993, thus falling somewhat short of the national quota
of 296 (research and commercial, combined).
Sei Whale
(Balaenoptera borealis)
This cosmopolitan mysticete has a patchy, oceanic distribution
(Horwood 1987). It has been heavily exploited in
all areas where it is known to have been abundant. The
current status of stocks is poorly known except that some
are well below pre-exploitation levels.
Bryde's Whale
{Balaenoptera edenl^
Bryde's whales have a pantropical distribution. Of all the
medium-sized to large mysticetes, they were probably the
least depleted by commercial whaling, although some populations
were appreciably reduced. Catches in some areas
were probably under-reported because of the failure to distinguish
Bryde's whales from sei whales. Bryde's whales
were the targets of Taiwanese whalers in the western
Pacific during the 1970s to mid 1980s (Brownell 1981,
Greenpeace 1987). They are taken regularly in the artisanal
whale hunt in the central Visayas, Philippines
(Leatherwood et al. 1992; Fig. 7), and possibly also at
Lamakera, Indonesia (Barnes 1991).
Blue Whale
(Balaenoptera musculus)
The continued decline of the world's stocks of blue whales
20
Figure 7. Bryde's whales are killed regularly in an artisanal
whale hunt based at Pamilacan, Philippines (12 May 1992).
in the 20th century, even after the establishment of the
IWC, is often cited as an indictment of the Commission,
and indeed of the world community's ability to achieve
rational management of the whaling industry. Stocks in
the Southern Hemisphere have been of greatest concern.
Some 150,000 to 210,000 blue whales migrated each year
to antarctic waters early in the 20th century (Gambell
1976). Recent estimates suggest that only a few thousand
blue whales (at least half of them "pygmy blue whales")
survive in the Southern Hemisphere (Yochem and
Leatherwood 1985, Butterworth and De Decker 1990,
Borchers er a/. 1991).