Endangered whale species
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources (IUCN) has
categorised the whales according to the population status. The following categories
are recognized:
· Extinct : not found in the wild in the past 50 years.
· Endangered (E): in dangerof
extinction, unlikely to survive if the causes of decline
are not taken away.
· Vulnerable (V): likely to
be moved into the Endangered category in the near
future is the causes of decline are not taken away.
· Rare (R): small populations, not vulnerable of endangered, but definitely at risk.
· Indeterminate (I): known
to be Endangered, Vulnerable or Rare, but for which it is
impossible to determine the exact category.
· Insufficiently known (K):
suspected, but not known, to belong
to one of the above categories.
· Out of danger (O): formerly
belonging to the above categories, but sufficiently
recovered, because the main threats have been removed.
· Unlisted (U): no special status has been assigned.
Of the baleen whale species, 7 are listed as endangered or vulnerable. The following
table shows the original and current sizes of the populations and the IUCN-assigned
status
| Species and status | Population | Pre-whaling size | Current size |
|
Bluwhale
E
|
North Atlantic | 15 000 | few 100s |
| North Pacific | 5 000 | 1400 -1900 | |
| Antarctic | 160 000- 240 000 |
660 (?) | |
| Bowheadwhale V | Spitzbergen | 25 000 | extinct (?) |
| Hudson Bay (Davis Strait) |
12 000 | few 100s | |
| Ohotsk Sea | 6 500 - 10 000 |
few 100s | |
| Bering / Chukch / Beaufortsea |
14 000 - 20 000 |
7 800 | |
| GrayWhale U | North Atlantic | unknown | extinct |
| Western N. Atlantic | 1 500 - 10 000 |
100 -200 | |
| Eastern N. Pacific | 15 000 - 20 000 |
20 000 - 21 000 |
|
| Pygmy right whale K | Southern hemispere |
unknown | unknown |
| Minke whale K | North Atlantic | unknown | 85 000 |
| North Pacific | unknown | unknown | |
| Southern hemispere |
unknown | 760 000 | |
| Soulther right whale V | South Atlantic | > 17 000 | 1 500 |
| South Pacific, Indian ocean | unknown | 200 (?) | |
| Southern ocean | unknown | few | |
| Norther right whale E | North Atlantic | unknown | 500 - 1 100 |
| North Pacific | unknown | nearly extinct | |
| Humback whale V | North Atlantic | unknown | 6 500 |
| North Pacific | 10 000 - 15 000 |
900 - 2500 | |
| Southern hemispere |
unknown | 12 000 | |
| Indian ocean | unknown | > 500 | |
| Sei Whale V | North Atlantic | unknown |
unknown |
| North Pacific | 63 000 | 13 000 | |
| Souther ocean | 100 000 | 40 000 | |
| Fin whale V | North Atlantic | unknown (>75 000) |
13 600 |
| North Pacific | ei tietoa | < 20 000 | |
| Southern hemispere |
300 000 - 650 000 |
24 000 |