Welcome to the Whale Encyclopedia, here you have a chance to get a glimt of the many different whales that are swimming around in our oceans. Here you can see the “small” whales (0,22 ton) and the big whales (over a 100 tons).

2.3m long; weighs 0.22 tons

Dall’s Porpoise are found only in the North Pacific. The Government of Japan, rather than the IWC, manages this species. Japan strictly regulates the harpoon hunt for Dall’s porpoise.

 

4.7m long; weighs 1.26 tons

This species ranges widely in the world’s warmer tropical waters. There are two types, the southern form short-finned pilot whale (4.7m long; weighs 1.26 tons) and the northern form short-finned pilot whale ( 6.5m long; weighs 3.15 tons). The IWC does not manage this species. The Japanese government strictly regulates the small-type whaling and drive fisheries for this species.

 

8m long; weighs 8 tons

Minke whales range widely from the Arctic and the Antarctic to tropical waters. Before the 1970s, minke whales were not considered an important species for the whaling industry, but interest in minke whales has increased as a result of the suspension of commercial whaling for other species, such as the fin whale. Currently, because minkes have become more important as a usable resource, Japan conducts research whaling in the western North Pacific and the Antarctic Oceans, catching a sample of approximately 500 animals a year. Norway’s commercial whaling operations also catch about 600 whales a year. The stock remains abundant and stable worldwide.

 

11m long; weighs 11 tons

The Baird’s beaked whale lives only in the North Pacific, but it ranges from tropical through frigid zones. Coastal whaling for Baird’s Beaked whale began in 1612 in Chiba, Japan. The IWC does not manage this species. The Japanese government permits, under strict supervision, a small-type whaling total annual catch of 62 animals in the coastal whaling ports of Wada, Ayukawa, Abashiri, and Hakodate.

 

12.9m long; weighs 0.3 tons

Humpback whales are found in all oceans from the Arctic to Antarctic. American whaling vessels hunted these whales, and the stock was depleted in the western North Pacific in the latter half of the 19th century. Whalers then moved to the North Pacific and to the Southern hemisphere, catching more than 100,000 humpbacks in the first forty years of the twentieth century. The IWC banned commercial whaling for this species in 1966. An annual catch quota of two whales is permitted as aboriginal subsistence whaling for St. Vincent Island in the West Indies.

 

13m long; weighs 14 tons

Gray whales were found in the North Atlantic until the 18th century, but currently, they live only in the North Pacific. In the latter part of the 19th century, 11,000 gray whales were caught off the coasts of California and Mexico. About 1,000 were caught under pelagic whaling in the first half of the twentieth century, but gray whales were given full international protection in 1946. Currently, residents of Siberia are allowed an annual catch of 135 gray whales and the Makah tribe of the U.S. an annual catch of five a year; both quotas are for aboriginal subsistence whaling. The population of gray whales has recovered to above its initial stock size. The U.S. has removed gray whales from the endangered species list.

 

15m long; weighs 50 tons

Right whales have lived in all oceans at different times. This is the first large-sized whale that was targeted for whaling. Right whales were caught in early 10th century in Japan’s coastal waters, and were hunted in Bay of Biscay off Spain and France from as early as the 9th century. With the advent of pelagic whaling, over 100,000 whales were caught during the 19th century, and the population was severely depleted in the early 20th century. Whaling for right whales was banned in 1935.

 

13.7m long; weighs 18.5 tons

These whales range in all oceans from tropical to warm waters and have been caught since ancient times near Japan. Until the 1950s, they were thought to be sei whales. In the North Pacific, Japan, Russia, Korea, and Taiwan hunted these whales commercially, but because they took only a relatively small number, the stock is healthy and stable.

 

15m long; weighs 45 tons

Sperm whales are in all oceans from the equator north and south to the Arctic and Antarctic. The sperm whale has been the whale targeted for large-scale commercial whaling for the longest period-since the 17th century. The sperm whale was one of the major species the Americans sought during the 18th and 19th centuries. The whale in the novel, Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, is a sperm whale. Whalers prized the oil contained in the sperm whale’s blubber and head for use in industry and for illumination. The stocks of sperm whales are quite healthy.

 

18m long; weighs 60 tons

Bowhead whales are found only in the Arctic and sub-Arctic waters. They are slow swimmers and are great sources of oil and baleen. Bowheads were hunted by European and North American whalers over several centuries-to the extent that in the 19th century, they almost became extinct. Despite the fact that the population is quite low, the Inuit of Alaska are permitted an annual catch of 54 whales under aboriginal subsistence whaling. A small number are subsistence-hunted in Canada and Russia as well.

 

21m long; weighs 50 tons

Fin whales are wide-ranging in both hemispheres, from subtropical regions to Arctic and Antarctic waters. Modern whalers targeted fin whales all over the world. Whaling for fin whales is now only permitted in Greenland as aboriginal subsistence whaling.

 

25m long; weighs 100 tons

Blue whales may be found in all oceans of the world in both hemispheres. With the invention of exploding harpoon guns mounted on steam- and diesel-powered vessels in the latter half of the 19th century, blue whales were hunted aggressively in all seas. These whales produced the largest amount of oil per whale. However, in 1966, IWC banned, worldwide, the catching of blue whales. In about one century, a total of approximately 300,000 whales were taken, and the stocks declined dramatically. Blue whales are the largest animal on earth today.

 

Illustration/reference–”Osakana Tsushin Gyo!” Women’s Forum for Fish (WFF)http://www.seaworld.co.jp/~gyo