Whales

Whales belong to a group of marine mammals called cetaceans, which also includes dolphins and porpoises. They are some of the largest and oldest animals on earth, found in every ocean around the world. Depictions in indigenous rock carvings and cave paintings suggest these animals have been hunted and celebrated by humans for thousands of years. The whaling industry began around the 11th century when the Basques started hunting the northern right whale. The organized practice of whaling then spread throughout the globe, targeting other species such as the Humpback and sperm. The late nineteenth century saw a growth in the whaling industry due to the development of steam powered boats, leading to massive declines in whale populations worldwide.

Industrial advancements in the 20th century dealt a crushing blow to whale populations around the world, nearly 2.9 million were killed as diesel engines, exploding harpoons, and advanced fishing vessels became common. In Antarctica, whalers reduced the fin whale populations to as little as 1 percent of its pre-whaling size. Attempts in the mid 20th century to regulate and reduce international whaling slowly shifted opinions towards conservation. It wasn’t until the 1980s that a moratorium on commercial whaling became fully realized. Some large whale species like the humpback, southern right, and common minke whales have made modest progress, but a quarter of all whale species remain threatened with extinction. Several countries around the world still maintain dangerous and negligent whaling practices. Scientists continue to about the complex and nuanced behaviors of these great species, all of which face constant threat from hunting, climate change, sea travel, and shifting global food chain interactions.