Minke Whale
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Minke Whale
Conservation
The Minke
whale was historically hunted by native people from the
Olympic Peninsula in Washington State and by commercial
whaling fleets in British Columbia and Alaska (Wilson and Duff
1999). After the large whales were decimated, whalers went
after the Minke whale. They took over 100,000 whales from the
southern Hemisphere and thousands more were taken in the north
Pacific (Reeves et al. 2002). Norway continues to take Minkes
from the Atlantic Ocean and Japan takes them from the north
Pacific (Reeves et al. 2002). The species is abundant but
information on its population dynamics and the ethics of
killing whales has raised concerns about exploitation.
The International Whaling Commission considers the western
North Pacific to have two Minke whale stocks. The so-called
‘J-stock’ inhabits the Sea of Japan, Yellow Sea, and East
China Sea (Goto and Pastene 1997) and the ‘O-stock’ is found
in the Sea of Okhotsk and north Pacific waters. The
IUCN review indicates that the J-stock declined by more
than 50% in the past from intensive whaling by China, Taiwan,
the Republic of Korea, and Japan. (Taiwan
banned whaling in 1981). O-stock is also thought to be low but
it is less depleted than J-stock. Japan continues to hunt
North Pacific Minke whales, taking at least 100 per year under
a national permit for scientific research (IUCN). Minke whales
are also taken annually as a fishery bycatch in South Korean
and Japanese waters. Minke whales sold in Japanese markets are
mostly from J-stock (Dalebout et al. 2002). There is
concern for the stock’s long-term survival (Baker et al.
2000).
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